Bejewled Handcuffs Sequel
by SugarCubes101
Summary: Their family may look perfect on the outside, but that could not be more wrong. While their kids have to face the challenges of growing up, their marriage starts tearing at the seams.
1. The Family

** Hey guys! So yes this is my sequel and I recommend if this is your first time reading this you go to my story Bejeweled Handcuffs and read the epilogue chapter, so you have a sense of what's going on, or if you just need a recap. Enjoy!**

_Patricia_

Today's Taylor's 10th birthday and Eddie is going to be on break from a TV show he's filming in New York. He flies in later today and everyone is excited to see him.

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. I always do this when I'm anxious. I pulled into the driveway to pick Rachel up from a sleepover she had the night before. I got out of my car and went to the door. I rang the doorbell. I heard footsteps coming and the door opened.

"Hi, I'm here for Rachel." I said. Rachel came to the door with her things in hand.

"Hi Mom," She said.

"Did you have fun?" I asked.

She nodded her head. "Well, thank you for having her." I said.

"Always a pleasure." The woman closed the door and we walked to the car. Rachel got into the passenger seat. I started driving and tapping my fingers again.

"You're aura's a weird color today." She said. What is she going on about? She just told me a couple months ago she could see auras and since then she's been telling people what color theirs is and what it means. I honestly think it's bullshit, although I'd never say it out loud.

"Ok," I said. "And what color is it?" I asked.

"It's like a red sort of color."

"And what does it mean?"

"Anxiety. So, are you feeling anxious?" She asked. I would hide it, but if she can see my aura there's no sense in hiding it.

"Yeah, kinda, but don't worry."

After a while in the car we got home. Where her friend lives is a long way off from Beverly Hills. I pulled into the garage and we went inside.

"Taylor, Chad, Alex?" I called. This house is so big it's hard to track everyone down.

I walked into the foyer and Chad was coming down the stairs. "Yeah Mom?" He asked.

"Where are your brother and sister?" I asked. Rachel walked in after me.

"Well one of them is right there." He pointed to Rachel.

"You know what I mean. Oh, and Taylor's party starts in a few hours and your dad will be here about 3, so I want everyone ready by 2." I started walking into the kitchen. "I mean it!"

I walked into the kitchen and found Taylor. "Hey," I said. I opened the fridge.

"Mom," She started. "What time's Dad going to be here?"

"About 3."

I saw her start to get a bit disappointed. "Oh," She replied softly. I took a few steps toward her.

"He wishes he didn't have to fly out on your birthday, but he'll be here in time for your party, ok?"

Taylor walked off. I don't know what it is, but she and Eddie have this special connection. Sure, he has connections with all his kids, but with Taylor it's different. They have their own little world together. It's like nothing else exists when they're together. You could just tell that they were meant for each other.

Like when she was a baby she wouldn't stop crying and I couldn't figure it out. _Rachel and Chad were cranky that day probably cause they hadn't gotten much sleep from the night before (due to all of Taylor's crying). Well Eddie had been gone for a few days on business and when he came back the house was chaotic. As he walked through the front door I felt bad for him. Rachel and Chad were fighting, Taylor was bawling, and Alex clung onto his leg as he walked in the front door._

_ Eddie shook him off and asked him what the problem was. Alex pointed upstairs. Eddie walked up there and went into the nursery where he found Taylor bawling her eyes out and me attempting (but failing) to calm her down._

_ "What's going on with Alex? The second I walked in the door he was at my feet."_

_ "It's Taylor. She's been bawling her eyes out and none of us got any sleep last night."_

_ He walked up to me and took Taylor. He started rocking her. "It's ok. It's ok, Daddy's here." He cooed. "Nothing can hurt you." He held her close._

_ The screaming and crying subsided increasingly by the minute. It was like Eddie told her to sit down and shut up, but in a nice way. The second Taylor stopped crying the house was at peace._

Ever since then they've had a special bond. My thoughts were interrupted by my phone. I looked at the caller I.D. Eddie?

"Hello?" I said.

"Hey,"

"Hey," I started. "So are you about to get on the plane?"

"Not exactly," He said. What? "My flight's been delayed. It's snowing really hard here." Well, it's February 22nd I can see why.

"How long has it been delayed for?"

He sighed. "About an hour."

"An hour! At that rate you won't make it back in time for Taylor's party!" I sighed trying to calm myself. "Do you think you'll be back tonight?"

I could hear him inhale over the phone. "I really don't know."

"Well I'm going to give the phone to Taylor, you can wish her a happy birthday."

_Taylor_

Mom called me into the kitchen and said, "It's Dad." She handed me the phone.

"Hi Dad."

"Hey," He started. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Listen, I might not be able to make it back in time for your party cause my flight's been delayed. I'll probably be back later tonight, though."

"Ok, bye Dad." I said, disappointed. His flight just HAD to get delayed today, of all days.

"Bye. Hey, I love you."

"Love you too." I hung up and gave Mom's phone back to her. I went upstairs to my room. I sat on my bed and let some tears drip down my cheeks. I've been looking forward to this all week, just to have it ruined by some snowy weather. I just HAD to be born in February.

I heard a knock at the door and it opened. It was Rachel. "Hey," She said softly. "You ok?"

I wiped the tears off my cheeks. "No," I said. "I've been looking forward to this all week only to have it ruined by stupid snow!"

"You're aura just changed color. It went from an orange to a forest green just like that."

I snapped. "Rachel, just give it up! You can't see auras and even if you can they're not right!" I yelled.

"Actually, yes I can." She thinks she knows everything. "Ok, now instead of green it's like a murky red color."

"Who cares?!"

"Well you should since you're angry and jealous and you have a low self-esteem right now!" She retorted.

"So what if I am?"

She crossed her arms. "Whatever." She walked away. It irks me when she starts talking about auras.

I went downstairs and into Dad's study. "Hello?" I whispered.

"What?" A voice asked. It was Chad, being snoopy as usual.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

He scoffed. "I guess I could ask you the same thing."

"Seriously, what are you doing in here?" I asked, firmly.

He sighed. "I'm looking through Dad's stuff." I could never understand why he decides to come clean and be a show off like that.

"What did you find?"

"Nothing, just bills and scripts." I assisted him in looking through the drawers of Dad's desk.

I found a key, which can't be anything too important. Nothing in this room is under lock and key. We found a lot of pen caps and pictures of us kids as babies. Mom keeps most of them in a scrapbook somewhere.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" I asked.

"I don't know." Chad said. I picked up the key I had found and studied it.

"So what do you think this key goes to?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"Rachel, Chad, Alex, Taylor come down here, please!" Mom called. Chad and I scurried from the study and into the living room. We were the first ones in there and Rachel and Alex followed.

"Guys, I have some bad news." Mom started. "Your Dad's flight got cancelled because of the snow. He doesn't know when he can get another flight cause none are leaving the airport."

I felt tears. "Taylor, I'm so sorry." Mom said.

"But, he said he was gonna be here."

"I know, I know. But he promises he'll see you soon. Ok?"

I went up to my room again. I looked at my clock. It was already 3. He said he was gonna be here by now. Don't worry about it. You'll have a good time at your party this afternoon.

I took a shower and dried my hair. I looked in my wardrobe. What do I want to wear? Well, I was gonna wear the sundress Dad got me from New York a few months ago, but I don't know if I want to wear it anymore.

Oh, whatever, I can't think of anything else to wear, so I'll just wear it. I put on the dress and went into Mom's room.

"Mom?" I called.

She sniffled. "Yeah?"

"I was just wondering if you'd curl my hair now."

She turned toward me. Her cheeks were tear stained and her eyes were a bit red.

"Yeah, sure." She walked into her bathroom and got the curling iron all set up.

Only about an hour until my party. And an hour closer until Dad gets home.


	2. Sneaking Around

_Rachel_

It's a couple hours into Taylor's party and all her friends are in the pool right now. I feel bad for her cause it's her birthday and Dad isn't here. I mean, I miss him too, but I feel like Taylor needs him more than I do. I don't know. I came in from the pool and grabbed some chips. Salt and vinegar, my favorite.

I heard everyone come inside behind me. I think it's time for cake. Taylor sat down at the head of the table and we sang happy birthday. She blew out the candles and Mom started cutting the cake. She gave Taylor the first piece and served everyone else next. When she got to me I took a bite.

It was ooey gooey chocolate cake, Taylor's favorite. Mom doesn't bake much, but when she makes hey ooey gooey chocolate cake you better savor it. Everyone loves it and I've made it with her a few times, but not today. I think she made it because not only is it Taylor's favorite, but it's Dad's favorite, too.

After we were all done with the cake we went to the presents. Taylor got some gift cards, but it was mostly books and the like. I decided I'd had enough and went into Dad's study. Nobody knows this, but I always come in here and rummage through Dad's stuff. I don't know why, but I do and I've done it for the past year when Dad was busy filming his TV show in New York.

I came upon a key that was always there, but I could never figure out what it went to. I put the key in my pocket and went over to the cabinets. I looked through them when I came across one that was under lock and key. I took the key out of my pocket and put it in the lock. I turned it and it opened.

All that was in there was a couple shoe boxes. I took one out and looked inside it. I found some perfume that was just collecting dust. I sprayed it. It smelled fruity, almost like something someone in college would wear. I kept looking through it. A sweatshirt from Venice Beach, a necklace, a scrapbook, and a journal.

I looked through the scrapbook. There were a couple pictures of little kids in there. They looked like it would be me and Chad. I kept looking through the pages. I came upon a picture that looked like Aunt Katie. I flipped to the next page. This one looks like it would be Dad as a teenager with some girl I didn't recognize. She looked younger than Dad, but only by a year or two.

I took the picture out and looked on the back to see if anything was written.

_Me and Eddie; summer 2005_

Who made this? I looked at the girl in the picture again. She looked kinda like Dad. I kept looking through it. Ok, that's definitely Aunt Katie, Dad, and Grandma. Whoever made this was obviously taking the picture.

I closed the scrapbook and looked through the journal. It's funny, all the entries are signed with the initial T. I didn't read it, I just skimmed it. Probably the most boring diary ever.

I left the study before I was missed. I was not about to get caught. Mom would've had my hide if she caught me looking through Dad's stuff.

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

It's 10 o'clock and still no word from Dad. Mom told all of us to go to bed, so we did as we were told. I got my pajamas on and put my hair in a braid. I don't like my hair stick straight ALL the time. I crawled into bed while Sophie lay on the floor next to me.

I closed my eyes. The things I had found in Dad's study earlier haunted my mind. Whose were they? I intend to find out.

_Patricia_

I told the kids to go to bed about half an hour ago. I miss Eddie and I felt so bad when I told Taylor his flight got cancelled. Everyone seemed disappointed today. It feels so quiet here and it has for a while. The most heartbreaking thing is when Eddie leaves for the 2 or 3 month stretch to film. We'll visit New York once or twice and he'll come home occasionally, but other than that he's gone.

Then, he'll have a break, but it's only 2 or 3 weeks and during the school year for the kids, so they don't get to see him as much as they'd like to. As for this break he has it's going to be for about 4 months, so he'll be here until July.

I just miss him. I decided to stop being sad and go up to bed. There's no point in tiring myself over this. I walked upstairs and down the hall. I peeked my head in each of the kids' rooms.

Taylor and Chad were fast asleep, but Rachel was probably faking it. Alex was stirring slightly, but other than that he was asleep. I walked to my room and got my pajamas on. I got into bed and watched TV for a little while, but got bored. I just turned it off and laid my head on the pillow. I can't even count the times I've cried myself to sleep.

Tears were about to fall when I stopped myself. If you're so upset why don't you just call him or text him? I took that into consideration. Yeah, I guess I could do that.

I picked my phone off the nightstand. I went to my messages and started a new message.

_I miss you._

I was about to press send when I got a new message. It was from Eddie!

_Come downstairs._

I stared at the message, wondering if I should. I just splurged and got out of bed. I went downstairs, careful not to wake any of the kids. I stood at the top of the stairs. I scanned the darkness. Why would he tell me to come downstairs? I walked down the stairs.

I stood at the bottom of the stairs when the front door flung open. It was him! It was Eddie! He stepped inside. I walked toward him and hugged him. Tears ran down my face.

"I missed you." He whispered.

"I missed you too." I told him. "I missed you so much."

We pulled away. "I'm home, I'm home." He reassured me.

"Is this a dream?" I asked him. I didn't believe it. He was standing here in the foyer. It has to be a dream.

"I hope not." He said. He put his forehead against mine. We stared into each other's eyes for a moment. He started to lean in. I accepted and out lips touched. No, it's not a dream. It's perfectly real.

We pulled away. "Wait, how did you get a flight? I thought you said-"

He interrupted me. "It didn't snow for that long, surprisingly."

I smiled a little. "Do you want me to help you with your bags?" I asked.

"Nah, we can get them tomorrow." He took my hand. "Now it's time to take my wife upstairs and show her how much I love her."

He picked me up and walked upstairs. I just hope we don't wake the kids.


	3. Blue Auras and Manly Hugs

_Chad_

I woke up in my bed and looked around the room. Why do I feel like I got no sleep last night? When I walked past Rachel's room Sophie scampered out of her room and followed me down the hallway. I walked downstairs and parked my butt on the couch in the living room.

I turned on the TV to Nickelodeon. It was some stupid new show. I just tuned it out. Sophie had planted herself right on top of me, so there's no point in going to get breakfast right now.

After a few moments Alex walked in. "Why do I feel like I got no sleep last night?" He asked.

"So it's not just me?" I said. "I feel the exact same way."

"And me." A voice said. We looked to the little balcony thing that looked onto the living room from the second floor. It was Rachel. Why do I feel like she eavesdrops on too many conversations?

She walked away from the upstairs hallway to come downstairs.

"Why does she do that?" I asked. Alex just shrugged. He knows nothing.

Rachel walked in. "Where's Taylor? She's usually awake by now."

"Breakfast?" I suggested. Rachel didn't seem to buy the idea. She and Alex walked off to get breakfast. Meanwhile I pried Sophie off of me, hoping they wouldn't take all the bacon.

I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything was on the table that was supposed to be there. I grabbed a plate and got a few strips of bacon, eggs, English muffin, blueberry muffin, and orange juice.

While I took a bite I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. It was probably either Mom or Taylor. Whoever it was walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. I just ignored it until Rachel screamed, "DAD!"

I looked up to see if she was faking it, but she wasn't. She sprinted over and gave Dad the biggest hug (probably in the history of the universe). He was a little caught off guard as Alex and I walked over. He gave us both hugs as we bombarded him with questions.

"When did you get home?" Rachel asked.

He walked over and sat down at the table. "Last night. You guys wouldn't have been up."

"Why didn't you wake us up, then?" I asked.

"Because one of you would've been cranky this morning." He said.

We all sat down at the table and continued eating out breakfast. Mom walked in and gave Dad a kiss. While Alex and I scowled Rachel was in awe. Sometimes she'll go on about how it's like a movie or something then we'll get into these fights about whether it is or not. She and I get into really stupid arguments, now that I look back on it.

Just last week we were fighting about whose instrument was better. My violin or her flute.

_"Obviously it's mine!" Rachel yelled. "The Flute has a much more beautiful sound than the Violin. Everyone knows that."_

_ "No!" I retorted. "The Violin almost always plays the melody in the orchestra, which must mean it's the prettiest sound."_

_ "Same goes for the Flute in band!" Rachel yelled. She was just upset cause I didn't follow in her footsteps and join band._

_ Eventually this little argument transitioned into full blown fighting. Yep, kicking, scratching, and wrestling sort of fighting. Mom had to come in and pull me off of Rachel. In my defense, she totally started it. Mom took away our iPods and we still don't have them back yet._

My thoughts were interrupted by the sudden scream that came from the front of the kitchen. It was Taylor, looking as excited as ever. She took one look at Dad and ran to him. She gave him a hug (even bigger than Rachel's) and asked all the same questions we did.

She eventually got over her excitement and sat down. "So how'd you kids sleep last night?" Dad asked.

"I don't know why, but I feel like I got no sleep last night." Rachel said.

"Yeah, me too." I said.

"And me." Alex chimed in.

After breakfast I got ready for a day out. At least, that's what I would assume. Dad would probably take us all to do something. I put on my converse and went downstairs.

"Dad?" I called. "Dad?" My voice echoed throughout the house. I walked down the hallway. I listened around and heard something coming from his study. I knocked and walked in. "Dad?" I asked.

There was someone behind the desk. "Mom?" I asked. She looked up. She was on the phone.

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later." She said. "Ok, bye." She hung up and turned her attention toward me.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Your aunt."

"Which one?" I asked. She needs to be more specific.

"Aunt Piper."

My face grew confused. I've only seen Piper only once or twice according to Dad. I don't remember. "The one who lives in Monte Carlo and writes music?"

"Yeah. She says she loves you." Mom said. Rachel walked in.

"Mom, I-" She started, but she trailed off. "You aura's aqua. You're sad, why?"

"Rachel, it's nothing." She said. "Just leave me alone." Rachel and I left. Whatever was going on we didn't dare talk about. Rachel would probably come up with some stupid idea having to do with auras and horoscopes and stuff like that. I honestly think its crap. I don't really think she can see auras and I think everyone else agrees with me.

"Dad!" I called. I wanted to get my previous goal met.

"What?" A voice said from behind me. I turned around. There he was.

"I was just wondering if we were gonna do anything today."

He shrugged. "Talk to your siblings and tell me what you agreed on." He walked in the direction of the study, while I walked upstairs. I walked into Taylor and Rachel's adjoining rooms.

God, I hate both of their rooms. They're both too…girly. Taylor's is lavender and white. She's got a white couch-bed with a lavender comforter and one of those bedroom netting sort of things that hangs from a gold thing on the wall and flows down the sides of her bed. She also has a giant white, fluffy rug that somehow has no stains or dirt or anything. But then again, it is a long walk from here to the kitchen.

She's got a gold bedside table with daisies in a vase. Let's not forget the small crystal chandelier and the lavender armchair by her bookshelf. Not to mention the window seat that looks out onto the garden. I swear, Mom and Dad gave her the room with the best view.

As for Rachel's room, it's a whole different story. It's a little more age appropriate. She's got a black and white swirl type design for her wallpaper. Her celling is hot pink, to match the pillows on her bed. Her comforter, though, is black and white to match her walls. Her bed is white and it has a white table at the end of it with a black picture frame and her jewelry box. She's got a small black chandelier and a black lamp on her nightstand. She's got a hot pink desk chair to go with her glass desk with about a million books about Egyptology, greek mythology, horoscopes, fortune telling, and just about every book out there on auras. She's got all of it piled up in a white bookshelf behind her desk.

Her room's view isn't as great as Taylor's, but it's a lot better than mine. Part of it is the garden, but the other half is the pool. Overall, her view's ok.

I walked into Taylor's room. She was reading on her window seat. "What do you wanna do today?" I asked her.

She looked up. It kinda sucks having a sister that's a little bit of a geek. "We could…go to Barnes and Noble."

Without saying anything I walked to the other side of the room and knocked on the door adjoining her and Rachel's rooms. I walked into Rachel's room.

"What do you wanna do today?" I asked Rachel.

"Shopping." She replied without any hesitation. I scowled and walked out. I made my way to Alex's room.

I just walked in. "Alex what do you wanna do today that's not extremely lame?"

"Bowling." He replied.

"There's a good idea!" I said. I walked out of Alex's room and into Taylor's. I opened the door so both she and Rachel could hear. "How do you guys feel about bowling?"

"Sure." Rachel said.

"No!" Taylor said. "I hate bowling!"

"You didn't say that last time when you kicked my butt!" I said. "And anyway you're just saying that because you know Dad will go along with whatever you wanna do, just like he always does!"

I knew I had made a mistake after I said that. I only ever get into these screaming matches with Rachel. My cousin, Aiden, describes us as "an old married couple", but I don't believe him.

"You don't actually believe that Dad gets me whatever I want whenever I want!" Taylor said. "And anyway, is someone JEALOUS!?" She taunted.

"Well you know, you kind of are a spoiled brat!"

"Oh, you're one to talk, Chad! Let's not forget the other day Mom asked us what we wanted for dinner and you suggested we go out, so that's what we did."

"That was Mom, this is Dad!" I yelled. I definitely made a mistake in yelling that cause little did I know Dad was walking down the hallway at that exact moment.

"What's going on in here?" I turned around. There was Dad, standing in the doorway.

Taylor stood up. "Chad called me a spoiled brat and said I get whatever I want whenever I want it."

"Tattletale!" I told her.

Taylor was about to say something when the glare Dad was giving both of us silenced her. "Sit down." He commanded to me. I did as I was told and looked over at Taylor. She had a little smirk on her face, like she knows everything. "Sit down." Dad told her.

She wasn't expecting that, but she did as she was told.

"Now, your mom and I love all our kids equally. If either of you feel that one of you gets more privileges than the other please come and talk to us, ok?"

Taylor and I both nodded. I think we just wanted to get Dad off our backs. "As for you, Chad, I think we need to have a father-son talk."

Great, now I'm in trouble?! But, I didn't do anything! He led me out of the room and into his bedroom. I sat down on the little plush sleigh bench while Dad pulled up a chair. He made eye contact with me.

"Do you really feel like I treat Taylor better than all the rest of you kids?" He asked.

"Well, yeah," I mumbled. I looked at the floor. "It's just cause, you always go along with her ideas and stuff and you get her whatever she wants." I met his eyes again. "I understand you missed her birthday, but I feel like you do it all the time."

"Is that really how you feel?" He asked.

"Well, yeah. I feel like Mom does a better job not putting one of us on a pedestal." I said.

"Chad," He started. "I'm sorry if I've ever put one of you on a pedestal. I didn't mean to."

I gave him a half smile. "Now we're going to share in a manly hug." He said. He'll only say that when he's giving me or Alex a pep talk or something along those lines. He'll never say it to anyone else.

We shared in our 'manly hug'. "Let me see your hands." He said. He held up his. I looked at them. They were pretty big. I held up mine. His were giant compared to mine.

"Getting up there." He said. "When you were a baby your hands were tiny." He paused. "You're growing up so fast."

I gave him a hug. Not one of his 'man hugs' like a real one. "I love you, Dad"

"Love you too, Son."


	4. All Dogs Go To Heaven

_Patricia_

We went bowling. I won, but Eddie was literally 5 points behind me. At first it looked like he would kick my ass, then I would get a spare or strike and I'd be kicking his ass, and we'd go back and forth. All of us got out of the car and walked inside. Usually Sophie would be right here with her tail wagging and all that.

"Sophie!" I called. I didn't hear the jingle on her collar or anything of the sort. "Sophie!" I called again. Still nothing.

I walked around the house calling her name when I eventually found her in the living room. She was laying on the hardwood. She didn't pick up her head when I entered the room like she usually does. "Soph," I said. She just looked at me.

I petted her head. "You wanna go outside?" I asked her. She didn't perk up or anything. "Treat!" I said. I got the same reaction. She never does that. I got scared. What if she's sick? What if she can't walk? "Eddie!" I yelled. "Eddie get in here!"

He walked in. "What?"

"Something's wrong with Sophie." I said.

"Is she sick?" Eddie asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. She hasn't moved or anything."

Eddie picked her up and walked out of the living room. I followed knowing exactly where he was going. We came upon Alex on the way to the garage.

"Where are you going?" He asked. Eddie and I just walked past him.

"The vet." We replied in unison. I got the keys out of Eddie's pocket and started the car while he was in the back with Sophie.

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

When we got home the kids were bombarding us with questions. We just kind of ignored them and went into the living room with Sophie. I put down a mat and Eddie set her down on it. I sat next to her and softly stroked her head.

"Mom, what's going on?" Rachel asked. I looked up at her. She was on the verge of tears. So was everyone else.

"Guys, I don't know how to tell you this." I started. "Sophie's dying."

Rachel broke into tears. She sat down next to me and put her head in the crook of my neck. I stroked her hair. "You'll be ok, you'll be ok." I told her. I started choking up. Sophie's head was still rested on my thigh. I looked at her. I remember the day I picked out her name. I had never named a dog, so I wasn't sure what I should've done.

I looked up at everyone else. Eddie was holding Taylor and Chad and Alex were trying to stay strong. "Chad, Alex, you can cry." I told them.

Chad sniffled. "No, that's ok, Mom." He started. "We're men. We can handle this."

"Sure you are." I said. I wiped the tears off my cheeks. This was hard. Rachel was still sobbing, but she had calmed down a little. I continued stroking her hair. "What's the earliest memory you have of Sophie?" I asked her.

She thought for a moment. "I don't know." She paused. "I must've been about 3 and it was the day you guys brought Taylor home." I was transported back to that day. (A/N: By the way this part in _italics_ is going to be Rachel's POV.)

_I was waiting for Mom and Dad to get home with the new baby. Aunt Piper had been here for a few days before Mom and Dad went to have the baby. I like her. She looks exactly like Mom, so it's like Mom never left. Well, everything except she's thinner and she's not pregnant._

_ Alex has been upset for the past few months cause he couldn't exactly sit on Mom's lap. I couldn't do that when she was pregnant with Chad. I had to sit on Dad's lap all the time, which got boring._

_ Anyway, Aunt Piper was on the phone really late last night. The new baby was here. Chad and Alex were already asleep, but Aunt Piper let me stay up a little bit later than them._

_ "What's the baby's name?" I asked Aunt Piper._

_ She bent down to eye level with me. "Taylor." She picked me up and took me to by room._

_ I heard the front door open. "Hello?" Someone yelled. I sprinted out of the kitchen to the front door. Sophie followed me._

_ "Daddy!" I yelled._

_ "Hey Princess!" He picked me up and hugged me._

_ "Where's the new baby?" I asked._

_ "Mommy's bringing her in." He put me down while Chad toddled down the hallway and Alex was trying to keep up. Aunt Piper was behind both of them._

_ "Daddy!" Chad yelled._

_ Dad picked him up and hugged him._

_ "Daddy," Alex babbled. Dad did the same with him._

_ "So, where's Patricia?" Aunt Piper asked._

_ "She's bringing her in."_

_ "Hey guys," A voice said. We all turned around. It was Mom! She looked really tired. "The baby's sleeping." She whispered. She knelt down and I walked toward her._

_ I looked down on my little sister. She was so little! I looked behind me. Sophie was sitting patiently waiting while Chad and Alex were making their way to see her. "She's so little." I commented._

_ Aunt Piper towered above me and looked at my sister._

_ "Did you bring home the wrong kid from the hospital?" She joked._

I remember that day. It was amazing Sophie didn't sniff all over me, but after 4 kids I think she got the idea.

I looked down at Sophie again. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes, like she knew what we were talking about. "How about you, Chad?" I knew he would be too little to remember Eddie and me bringing Taylor home from the hospital.

He thought for a moment. He looked down. He seemed disappointed. (A/N: Again, _italics _are going to be Chad's POV.)

_I remember. It was the only time I can ever remember Mom and Dad fighting._

_ Rachel and Alex were gone at Aunt Katie and Uncle Jeff's and I was alone with Mom and Dad. I didn't know Mom was pregnant with Taylor, yet, but she was._

_ There was a lot of yelling coming from down the hall. I was watching cartoons in the living room with Sophie. I walked to the doorway and peeked my head down the hall. There was Mom and Dad, fighting. _

_ I can't really remember what it was about, but it freaked me out. I went over to Sophie and stroked her fur. She stayed there with me and let tears run down my face._

_ I turned my attention back to the TV. I love Tom and Jerry. I don't know why, but I like seeing them chase each other around. I heard the clicking of shoes coming down the hallway. Pretty soon Mom came in with a suitcase. She walked over to me and gave me a hug._

_ "I love you." She told me._

_ "I love you too." I replied._

_ She walked out of the living room with her suitcase. I heard the front door open and close. I continued to pet Sophie. I never thought I'd see this happening, but it did. I wish I was at Aunt Katie and Uncle Jeff's house that day._

"I don't remember." He said. I nodded my head.

"Alex, do you remember anything?" I asked.

_I wracked my brain for any memory of Sophie. Nothing seemed to be there. I'm drawing a complete blank._

_ "I don't have any." I said._

"Tay," Eddie said. "How about you?"

Taylor thought for a minute or two. "I think it was my second birthday,"

_It was more like a birthday party with family, but whatever. I remember Jaiden, Aiden, and Natasha were there. I toddled into the backyard following Rachel. I looked around at everyone. Mom and Dad were talking with Grandma. Not the one that talks like Mom, the other one. Although, I'm pretty sure Grandma and Grandpa from Mom's side of the family was there._

_ I walked over to Grandma. "Grandma!" I said. I hadn't seen her in a while._

_ "Taylor!" She said. She picked me up and put me on her lap. I think she gets as excited to see me as I do her. "Happy birthday."_

_ "Thank you." I said. Mom and Dad smiled. I looked down and saw Sophie sitting at Grandma's feet._

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

After a while the kids went to bed and I stayed with Sophie. I stroked her head and watched all the late night talk shows.

Eddie came in with two cups. "Coffee?" I took one.

"Thanks." I said. He sat next to me and I put my head in the crook of his neck. I stared into space for a moment, and then came back. "Eddie, how did we get here?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"I mean," I sighed. "I feel like the past 13 years went by way too fast. It feels like yesterday we got Sophie, and now…" I trailed off and looked up at Eddie. He was on the verge of tears. I let some trickle down my face.

"What can I do to make you happy?" He asked me. What would make him think I wasn't? I love my life here with the kids, although sometimes I don't show it. But I don't have to work and the kids aren't babies anymore. They can handle themselves, for the most part.

"Don't go away like you always do." I said. "The kids miss you; I miss you." I said that last part under my breath. He knows I miss him, so why should I say it out loud?

He kissed the top of my head. "I miss you too." He whispered in my hair. He stroked my arm. And we sat in silence. It was nice. It didn't feel like an empty room. It felt like we were first married again.

We'd sit in the kitchen or the study or on the back patio at night and just sit in silence, holding each other. We'd share a few kisses here and there, then we'd just kinda get all hazy and doze off.


	5. Quiet In My Town

_Patricia_

I woke up in Eddie's arms. I looked around the room a little and nuzzled my head in his chest. "Morning, Yacker." He said.

"Morning, Krueger." I hadn't been called Yacker in a while.

He yawned. "Is Sophie still alive?"

I remembered everything that happened yesterday. I looked to my side. Sophie was either asleep or dead. I petted her head. She was still warm, so that's a good sign. "Sophie," I cooed.

She slowly opened her eyes. "Yeah, she's alive." I assured Eddie. He nodded and scratched the back of his neck.

"Do you wanna just skip the breakfast buffet and just get doughnuts or something?"

"Will you go and get them?" I asked. He shifted his head. That's his code for do I have to. I gave him the puppy dog lip.

"Only because I love you." He gave me a peck and then left. I looked to my dog. It feels like just yesterday Eddie brought her home.

"Sophie, I'm really gonna miss you. I know sometimes I don't show I love you, but I do. Just always know that, ok?" She looked up at me with sad eyes. I don't think she was ready to die. "You've always been a symbol of my and Eddie's relationship. How it's progressed, how it's grown and changed. Now that your life's coming to an end I have to wonder if that's what's gonna happen to us, but I'm probably being silly."

I wiped away some tears that were forming. I've never really had someone close to me die. I know she only looks like a dog, but she's way more than that. I cradled her in my arms and one by one the kids came in.

After a while Eddie was home with the doughnuts and sat in there with us. I felt Sophie's breathing get slower.

I choked up and let more tears run down my face. "Guys, it's time to say your last goodbyes." Everyone gathered around me and petted Sophie.

"I'll miss you, Soph." Taylor said. "I love you."

"I love you." Alex said. He stroked Sophie's side.

"I'll miss you." Chad said. I looked at Rachel. Her heart was slowly breaking.

"What color's her aura, Rach?"

She kept her head down. "Dog's don't have auras, Mom."

I looked at Eddie. He was trying to hold in tears. I grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I'll miss her, too." He said.

Sophie's breathing slowed even more than it had. With one last minute we all petted her and told her we loved her. I felt her last breath. She closed her eyes and went into an eternal sleep.

I kissed her head and everyone seemed to know what had happened. Rachel started bawling. I took her and wrapped her in my arms. She could really use a hug right now.

I took her and looked in her eyes. They were still that same blue-green color that we all noticed the day she came home from the hospital. "You'll be ok." I told her.

She inhaled, then gave me a shaky nod. I pulled her close to me again. I stroked her hair. Her hair's getting dark. Almost like mine. It's not nearly as dark as mine, but it's getting there. Usually, it's more of a soft golden color, like Eddie's.

She finished up bawling and we joined everyone in the kitchen for various beverages and doughnuts. We all stood around the box of the doughnuts on the counter. I sat at a barstool and took a doughnut. I looked around for my Chai Tea Latte.

"Eddie, did you order me a Chai Tea Latte?" I asked.

He grew wide eyed. "Oh, no. I'm sorry I-"

"It's ok." I told him. "I'll make one." I went over to one of the cabinets and took out the tea kettle. I filled it with water and put it on the stove. I took a bite of my doughnut. It didn't taste as good as it usually did.

We all ate in silence. None of us were very happy. We all waited for someone to say something. Eventually Eddie said, "I better go make some calls." He left the kitchen.

I took a sip of my latte. It doesn't taste as good as it usually did, either. I heard a sudden weeping and looked up. It wasn't Rachel like I thought it would be. It was Alex. I walked to him and held him.

He continued crying, but I just let him. Usually Chad would be a bit of a jerk and tell him he's being a wuss, but not today. I let a few tears drip down my face, but the kids didn't notice.

After about 5 minutes he calmed down. I told him to get a glass of water and he did as he was told. They all went upstairs to their rooms or something like that.

I went to track down Eddie. I walked in the direction of the study and knocked on the door. I opened it, assuming he'd be on the phone. "Eddie?" I said. "You in here?" I listened around for a moment. "I guess not." I said to myself.

I thought for a moment, wondering where he might be. Suddenly, it hit me. I knew exactly where he was. I went upstairs and into our bedroom. I walked across the room and onto the balcony.

There he was; staring out into the distance. I've noticed he always does that when he's upset. He didn't notice me, yet. I walked out further and put my forearms on the railing. I grabbed his hand and he looked at me. "Hey," I said. "What did the vet say?"

"He said we could either cremate her or bury her."

We stood in silence for a minute or two. "I'm sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen two days after you got home."

He sighed. "It's ok. No one could help it."

I just ignored what he just said and planted a little kiss on his lips.

**I know it's shorter than my other chapters, but we're just gonna deal with it.**


	6. To Tell Or Not To Tell?

_Rachel_

I heard my alarm go off and woke up. I shut it off and went into the bathroom. I put in my contacts and got in the shower. I still can't believe Sophie died yesterday. It's still news to me.

I got all the shampoo out of my hair and dried my hair. I put on some makeup and went to my room. I got dressed and grabbed my bag. While I was walking downstairs Chad decided to slide down the railing.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

He was at the bottom of the stairs. "I found a faster way to go downstairs."

I scoffed. He's being a showoff. He knows we have an elevator, but no one really ever uses it.

We went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Taylor and Alex weren't downstairs, yet. Their school starts later than ours, so they get to get up later. It sucks. Chad and I sat down to breakfast when Dad came in all dressed and everything.

Chad and I exchanged looks. He never really comes downstairs this early, all dressed. Chad just ignored it and kept eating his bacon. He's obsessed. It's really annoying. Dad even brought home some bacon flavored bubble gum for him when he went to Florida one time.

Dad looked at his watch. "C'mon guys, we've gotta go." He said with his mouth full.

We grabbed our things and went to the car. I got in the passenger seat and Chad got in the back. I don't wanna go to school. Not just because I don't like it, but because I'm afraid I'll be too sad to do anything.

Dad drove us to school. He pulled up to the front of the building and dropped us off. "Have a good day." He said. I gave him a hug and got out of the car.

I walked inside and went to my locker. I dropped off my backpack and got my books. I went to my first class. It was physical science with Mrs. Anderson. It's kind of interesting, but I'm not the biggest fan of it.

I took notes on her lecture. Everyone thinks I'm weird cause I take notes every time she lectures. Meanwhile, everyone else is zoned out and being stupid. This specific class is full of dunces. How did they even get into an accelerated science class for the 8th grade anyway?

The bell rang so it was time for my next class. Band. I always love this class because one of my best friends is in it. And she sits right next to me too. I walked in to get my flute out of my band locker. I dialed in my combo and viola!

I set up and Chloe came in. "Hey," She said.

"Hey," I replied. I continued setting up and Mr. Messenger stepped on the podium. I swear he only has that to make himself look taller. We went over some music theory, musical time periods, and stuff like that.

The day flew by and it was lunch. I got my lunch out of my locker and went to the cafeteria. I sat down at the table I regularly sat at.

"So did your dad get back into town?" Chloe asked.

I was pretty unfocused, so I didn't reply immediately. "Uhh…yeah. He got back Saturday night."

Her face grew confused. "I thought you said he would be here right before Taylor's party."

"It started snowing in New York." Chloe nodded her head. Meanwhile, a group of girls came up to us. One of them used to be one of my best friends. We used to do everything together. That was until we were in 5th grade and she decided to not hang out with me anymore.

Ashleyn started talking. "So I heard your dad's back in town." She's actually kind of nice.

"Yeah, he is." I said.

"Is he in the military or something?" She asked.

"No. He's out of town for work."

Ashleyn and the other girls nodded. "So what does he do?" One of them chimed in.

I sighed a silent sigh. "He's an actor."

"Oh who is he?" My old best friend, Izzy, asked. She knows perfectly well who he is. We used to have sleepovers all the time.

"Eddie Miller." I said.

They all burst out laughing. "That's the biggest lie I've ever heard!" One said. They continued laughing.

"Why would she lie about that?" Chloe asked them.

They stopped laughing when Ashleyn stopped. "Because you have no friends." Ok, I take that back. Ashleyn is not nice. She's one of the meanest people alive.

I rolled my eyes. "Just leave me alone." I said.

_Chad_

I was sitting with my friends, minding my own business when I saw a group of girls laughing at Rachel and Chloe. One of my friends noticed.

"Hey, isn't that your sister?" He asked.

"Yeah." I stood up and walked over to them. "Hey, Rach." I said.

They stopped laughing. "You're Rachel's little brother, right?" One of them asked. I recognize her. She's Izzy.

"You know who I am, Izzy." I told her.

"Whatever," Another said. "Anyway, is your dad Eddie Miller?"

I shrugged. "That's what it says on my birth certificate." They busted a gut laughing. I couldn't figure it out. What was it? "Rachel, what's going on?"

She looked up from her lunch that now had tears on it. "Just leave me alone." She left the cafeteria with Chloe.

I looked around for the lunch monitor, but there wasn't one today. Usually there is, but not today. The bell rang and I threw away my lunch. I wasn't really hungry.

I went to math. Rachel and I have the same math class. Rachel's not dumb, but they put me in a 9th grade math class. It was a pretty big achievement for me. I sat down at my desk, which was directly behind Rachel's.

I don't know why Mr. Monroe put us so close together, but he did. Rachel was already there, so I approached her. "What was that at lunch, just now?" I asked.

She sniffled and wiped the tears from her face. "Look, just don't say anything to Mom and Dad, ok?"

"Rachel, are you sure-"

"Take your seats, class." Mr. Monroe said. I sat down. This isn't over. Rachel and I will talk about this.

I let Mr. Monroe teach his lesson and I didn't really listen. I'll just read about it in my book later. I don't know whether to tell Mom and Dad or not. Rachel doesn't lie and if she ever does it's a little white lie. Why would those girls not believe her?

The bell rang and I went to my final class. It was one of my electives, which was Theatre Arts. Dad suggested I take it, so I did. And he was right. It's pretty fun.

I walked into the auditorium and onto the stage. That's where our class meets. Our teacher hardly ever takes us into the classroom. It's mostly an office for her anyway.

I sat down with everyone else and Ms. Clark came out. "In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues to attack wins." She said. She opens every class with a quote. "Does anyone know who said that quote?"

Celia King raised her hand. "Ulysses S. Grant?" She asked.

"Very good Celia. Ulysses S. Grant. Tonight I want you to research that quote and come back with a two paragraph essay on what it means." Ms. Clark always gives us homework like that. It's kinda fun, though. Stupid, but fun. We continued with improv until the bell rang.

I grabbed my books from my locker and went outside to get picked up. I saw Rachel, so Mom wasn't here yet. "Is Dad picking us up?" I asked.

She shrugged. "So what was that in the cafeteria today?" I asked.

"It was nothing. Just don't tell Mom and Dad. You have to swear." She demanded.

I hesitated. I didn't know what to do. I feel like I should tell someone. I saw something out of the periphery of my vision. It was the Acura. "Mom's here." I said.

I got in the backseat. It was pretty much silent on the way home. "What's wrong?" Mom asked. I assumed she was talking to Rachel, so I just kept my mouth shut.

"Nothing." After that Mom just dropped it. We got home and I went up to my room. I closed the door and got out my books. I started on my math homework and finished that in about half an hour. I looked up the quote Ms. Clark wanted us to write a paper on and it sounds to me like whichever side wants to work the hardest will win.

By the time I was done with my homework it was time for dinner. I went downstairs and sat at the table. We were having some sort of rosemary chicken dish and oriental salad. It's really good.

We sat through a silent dinner. We seem to have a lot of those these days and I don't know why. Sure, when Dad gets home everyone's loud and excited. Then when he's been home for a couple days everyone gets indifferent again.

"You're awfully quiet tonight, Chad." Mom said. I looked up from my plate and shrugged. "You usually won't stop talking." She added.

"Guess today's one of my off days." I said. We sat in silence for a few more moments. "I'm done eating." I got up from the table and went up to my room.

I was arguing with myself whether or not to tell Mom and Dad what happened with Rachel today. I just decided to put it off.

If this happens again Mom and Dad will know.


	7. Books Always Have Hidden Treasures

_Alex_

I went downstairs and got breakfast. School starts in 45 minutes and I'm not looking forward to it. Mainly because we have to run the mile today and even though I practically travel a mile and back to get from my room to the kitchen I get tired out and don't do as well as I could.

My last time was 11:38, but I'd like to get less than ten minutes. Anyway, Dad drove Taylor and me to school yesterday, which was kinda weird. Even when he _is_ home he wouldn't drive us to school.

And am I the only one who's noticing tension between Rachel and Chad? I don't know if that's just me or if someone else is noticing it too. I've got some snooping to do after school.

When I got home I went straight into Chad's room. He's at baseball practice every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so I don't have anything to worry about.

I looked through all of his notebooks and I even went on his laptop, but there wasn't anything to make me think he and Rachel would be having a falling out. I turned off his laptop and went over to his bookshelf. I looked through some stuff, but there wasn't anything.

I decided to look at this one book that was on the shelf, so I gripped it and tried to take it off the shelf, but it wouldn't come off. I pulled some more, but nothing. I gave it one last tug and I fell over and the book was slanted down. I got off the ground and pushed it down more.

Suddenly, I heard a creaking noise. The bookshelf had opened! Chad had a secret passage in his room and he probably didn't even know it! I looked around the room to make sure no one was watching and stepped inside.

I didn't close the bookcase, it just closed by itself. I pulled out my phone and clicked a button. It lit up the secret passage. It wasn't one of those rocky, cobwebby, secret passages you see in the movies. It's one of those secret passageways with no cobwebs and hardwood floors.

I kept walking down it when there was a fork in the secret passage. I decided to turn left. It took me down another maze of hallways where I eventually met some stairs. I went down them assuming they would take me downstairs.

I heard some doors slam and people talking. They were pretty muffled, but I assumed Chad was back from baseball. I kept walking and the tunnels eventually came to an end. I shined my phone's light up to the wall and noticed there was a button sort of thing. I pushed it and a piece of wood turned in toward me.

I got out as fast as I could and the wood closed behind me. I pushed on it. It was sturdy and everything. How would I get it open again if I needed to? I looked around wherever I was.

I noticed there was an indentation in the wood. I stuck my finger in it and pushed the button that was hidden inside. The panel opened again. Whoa, this is cool.

I turned my attention over to where it had led. There was a door. I must've been in a closet or something. I turned the knob and peeked my head out. I was in Dad's study. I never knew there was a closet over here. It was in the very corner of the room where no one would think to look for anything.

I wonder if anyone else knows about them. I closed the closet door and went back down the secret passageway to see where the other one went.

I got back to the fork and went left. There weren't any stairs this time around. I came to the end of it, finally. I saw Mom and Dad's bedroom. I was looking into it from the corner of the room. I twisted the knob and opened the door except it wasn't a door.

I looked around the room and I realized I was in Mom and Dad's mirror that sat in the corner of their bedroom, right next to the bathroom. One way glass. I stepped out, careful to make sure no one was in the room.

I looked along the frame of the mirror and there was a little button that blended with the metal framework. I pushed it and the mirror opened again. I got inside. This was really cool!

I wonder if this is the only one or if there's more. Rachel will help me find more. She believes in all this mumbo jumbo and there's no doubt in my mind she'll go explore them with me.

I ran back to Chad's room's secret passage way and made sure he wasn't in there. There was a little peep hole in the bookcase, so I could see. He wasn't, so I dashed out and into Rachel's room.

"What?!" She yelled annoyed. She appreciates it when people knock.

My heart was racing from all the running and excitement. "I need to show you something." I said.

"Can't you just tell me?"

I shook my head. "C'mon," I knew she would follow me, so I led her downstairs into Dad's study.

"Why are we in here?" She whispered. I took her over to the little closet thing and pulled her inside.

I opened the panel with the indentation thingy. "Whoa!" She said.

I shushed her. She needed to be quiet. I stepped in and she followed. "How long have you known about this?" She asked.

"Probably about 15 minutes." I closed the panel and led her down the maze of hallways.

"Hey look at that." She said. She pointed to a doorway. It had to be another passageway. "Did you know this was here?"

"No," We went inside it. It looked the same as all the others, but it came to an end rather quickly.

There was another button and Rachel pushed it. It opened like a door. Another bookshelf, great. We looked around the room and realized we were in the dining room. Not the kitchen, the dining room. Our actual dining room that we never use.

"I didn't realize there was a bookshelf in here." Rachel said. She looked back to see what we had just stepped out of. It was that painting of a bowl of fruit no one likes.

There wasn't a button that you push to get it open. We eventually figured out it was one of the things you use to pull back the curtains. You pull it. We were about to go in again when Mom called us into the kitchen.

We just did as we were told and went into the kitchen. Chad and Taylor were already there. "What's going on?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, are we in trouble or what, Mom?" Chad asked. You know, it's funny sometimes he can have a really cocky attitude, but other times he can be really nice. It confuses me even at this age.

"You're not in trouble." Mom said. "You're Dad's going to dinner with some directors and producers tonight, so I was thinking we'd go out. What do you guys want?"

"Thai." Rachel said.

"Mickey D's." Chad said in a pimp sort of fashion.

"Sushi." Taylor chimed in.

"Mahi-Mahi." I said.

Mom sighed. "Can you guys agree on something for once?"

We all exchanged looks. Ok, I will admit we don't agree on food all the time, but I think we can get most of these dishes (or something similar) at one place.

All I know is Mom will not agree with the suggestion to go to McDonald's.


	8. Just An Average Wednesday

**I'm gonna change point of views a lot in this chapter. A lot.**

_Taylor_

I woke up and realized it was Wednesday. I got ready and went down to breakfast. Alex wasn't there, which was weird. He's usually ready before me. I sat down and grabbed a muffin. I was about halfway through it when Dad came into the kitchen.

"Where's Alex?" He asked. He took a sip of his coffee.

I shrugged. "I don't know. He hasn't been down here, yet."

"Well, we need to go soon." He said. I took another bite of my muffin.

"Dad," He looked to me. "Why have you been driving us to school this week?"

He looked a little bit hurt. "Don't you like it when I drive you to school?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm just wondering."

Alex walked in. "Young man, where have you been?" Dad asked him.

He grabbed a muffin. "Oh you know, here and there." Alex never acts like…Chad.

Dad took one look at him and said, "How much time have you been spending with Chad lately?"

"None." Dad smirked.

"Get in the car," He said. I did as I was told and got in the backseat. Alex got shotgun and Dad started driving. "I get what this is about." He started. "You're trying to impress someone!" Dad seemed delighted.

"No!" Alex yelled.

"Alex, Alex, Alex," Dad said. "You don't impress women by changing your attitude."

"What do you know about women? It's been a while since you were on the dating scene. Isn't that right, Dad?" Alex has become as cocky (or more) than Chad, if that's even possible.

Dad smirked to himself. "Alex, you've got a lot to learn." We started approaching the school and Dad dropped us off.

I got out of the car and went over to my friend, Ashley. Something tells me my life just got interesting.

_Rachel_

I hate my life. At first I thought it was a one-time thing, but it's become a regular deal. I've been getting picked on for the past 2 weeks. Although, if you wanna get technical we can say "bullied".

Chad's been confronting me about it and he wants to tell Mom and Dad. I just don't know if I want to do that yet. What can they do? They're not at school with me. Unfortunately, no one (not even Chad) will stick up for me. I don't know what to do.

I walked into the cafeteria. I hope Emily packed something good in my lunch today. I sat down next to Chloe. We sat in a comfortable silence while we ate when the 4 girls came up to us.

_Chad_

I saw the 4 girls who had been bullying Rachel and Chloe go up to them. One of them said something and the other 3 started laughing. I looked at Rachel. It looked like she was on the verge of tears. I felt my face get hot.

Another added something and they started laughing. I looked at Rachel again. She let a few tears drip down her face. I clenched my fists and teeth. They're playing with fire now.

They were about to say something else when I went over. "Leave my sister alone." I said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, you need your little brother to save you." The leader said.

I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyebrows. "I'm serious." I said again. "You leave them alone."

The leader person stepped forward. "Or what?"

I lunged forward when the lunch monitor and security guard held me back. Oh no. This got bad. Fast.

_Patricia_

Eddie and I were about to go out to lunch when I got a phone call. I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Patricia Miller?" A man's voice said.

"Yes, can I help you?"

"This is Mr. Marshall, principal of North Junior High." He took a breath. "I'm calling regarding your son, Chad. He got into a fight with another student in the cafeteria this afternoon."

"Oh," I said. "I'll be there in about 15 minutes." I hung up. What the hell did he do?

"Who was that?" Eddie asked.

I turned around. "Mr. Marshall. Chad got into a fight this afternoon. They want us to go down there."

_Eddie_

I never thought Chad would go down the path I did. Sure, I got into a couple fights and got suspended, but I thought I had higher expectations for my kids.

Patricia and I drove down to the school. We went into the office and saw Chad sitting outside the principal's office on a bench. His head hung down.

We walked into Mr. Marshall's office. "Hi, Mr. Marshall I'm Patricia."

"Hi, I'm Edward Marshall." He shook hands with Patricia.

"I'm Eddie Miller." I said. He grew wide eyed.

"The actor?"

I smiled. "Yeah,"

He seemed excited. "My wife loves your show."

"Thank you-"

"Would you mind signing an autograph?" He got out a paper and a pen. I signed it. "Thank you." He put away the autograph. "Now, about your son,"

I wasn't paying attention. I completely spaced. I couldn't believe Chad tried to hurt someone. It wasn't believable to me. Mr. Marshall must've been talking for 5 minutes when he said, "Don't you agree, Mr. Miller?"

I snapped back. "Sorry, what?"

He was about to say something when Patricia chimed in, "Thank you, Mr. Marshall." She stood up and so did I. We both shook his hand and then left. Chad looked up at us when we came out. "Let's go." Patricia said.

Chad stood up and followed us to the car. We sat in silence until I asked, "So, why'd you do it?"

Chad sighed. "Cause there was this girl and-"

"You hit a girl?!" Patricia yelled.

"No, no." Chad said. Patricia sighed a sigh of relief. "The lunch monitor grabbed me. Anyway, there was this girl and she was being really mean to Rachel."

"So you thought you'd fight?" I asked.

"Yeah, but you should've heard some of the things they were saying to her. She was crying, Dad."

This took its toll on me. "When your sister gets home we're going to have a long discussion about this."

That was the end of that conversation. Anyway, 3 o'clock rolled around and Rachel came in the door with Patricia.

Rachel came into the living room and put her bag down. "What's going on?"

"Rachel, sit down." I said. She sat down next to Chad.

"What's this about?" She asked.

Patricia came in and sat next to me. "Rachel, Chad was telling me that you were getting bullied at school today."

She turned toward Chad. "I told you not to tell them!" She yelled.

"Rachel-"

"Dad, I know you're gonna go on some speech about how I shouldn't be hurt by the things they say and how I should be comfortable in my own skin, but to be quite honest I'm not!" She yelled. "I hear it from the counselors and the teachers and I don't need it from you!" She stormed out.

"Rachel Maddie Miller!" I yelled after her. She just kept walking.

_Patricia_

"I'll go talk to her." I said. I went upstairs and knocked on her door. I knew she wouldn't open it so I just went in. There was a big lump in her bed, do I sat down. "Is there room for one more?" I asked.

"Go away." Rachel said from under the covers. She pushes everyone away. Wonder where she gets that.

I got under the covers with her and took her in my arms. Her face was tear stained. "You'll be ok." I whispered. "Rach, what are these girls saying about you?"

"They're saying I'm a liar just because I told them Eddie Miller's my dad." She sniffled. "They don't believe me."

That's probably the stupidest reason to call someone a liar over. Especially considering her last name. "Did Chad stick up for you?" I asked.

"Yeah," I don't think I've ever seen Rachel like this. Ever. "Why can't I be pretty like you?"

Yeah, just rip my heart out and step on it. Great move Rachel. "Don't say that, Rachel. You _are_ beautiful." We sat in silence for a moment. "Come here." I said. I stood up and so did she.

I took her into Eddie and my bedroom and put her in front of the mirror right next to our bathroom. "What do you see?" I asked.

More tears formed in her eyes. "A really sad girl."

"You know what I see?" I asked. She just shrugged. "I see a young woman with her father's hair and her father's height. And her mother's eyes." I paused. "Rachel, you're beautiful no matter what anyone says."

And she better believe me when I say that.


	9. Exploring The Passage

**Hey guys! Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I just got really busy doing some stuff.**

_Rachel_

I walked into the cafeteria with some confidence today. At least more than the past few. I sat next to Chloe and waited for the torture to begin. I got out my sandwich and talked with Chloe. I wasn't as tense as I had been and to be honest it was nice.

I saw Ashlyn walk in our direction. Here she comes. Time to stick up for myself. Any second now. To my surprise she just walked right past us without even acknowledging we were there. My eyebrows furrowed. This was weird.

"That was weird." I said to Chloe.

She looked in the direction I was looking. "Good, she didn't torment us today."

Something's going on. Mom picked Chad and I up from school and she asked how everything went.

"She didn't even acknowledge Chloe and I were sitting there. It was weird."

Mom sighed. "Better than getting tormented." She paused. "Any other problems today?"

"No,"

"What about you Chad?"

"No, it was pretty smooth sailing." He said.

"Good," Mom said. "Oh, that reminds me your Dad and I have a gala we have to go to Saturday night so-"

"We're staying at Aunt Katie's?" I asked. I like Aunt Katie's house. She makes the best caramel popcorn and she has the softest blankets. I can never figure out why, though.

"Well, I was _going_ to say you could stay home, but if you _want_ to go to Aunt Katie's."

"Actually, staying home sounds better." Chad said.

"Yeah," I added. We've been left home alone a few times before, but it was mostly a weeknight and only for a few hours. If I'm right these galas go from like 6 to at least midnight, so spending 6 hours with my siblings is gonna be interesting.

I can already tell this will be an exciting weekend.

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~**

It's Saturday night and I'm watching Mom and Dad get ready for the gala in the secret passage. It's times like these I'm so glad this is one way glass cause trust me, if it wasn't, Dad would've seen me when he was attempting to tie his bowtie.

Mom eventually had to help him and I'm just gonna say it got a little PG-13. But anyway, Mom's wearing a Chanel evening gown. It's a simple dress. It's a royal blue, strapless sort of thing and goes to her feet. Mom's got a lot of accessories to go with it, though. She had a diamond choker necklace, a layered diamond bracelet, and a few diamond hair clips.

Her hair's done in an up do and it looks amazing. She's wearing strappy black heels for shoes. As for Dad, he's just wearing a tux. Not much to say there. I can already tell they're about to leave, so I sprinted down the secret passage and downstairs. I decided to go out the one that leads to the dining room.

Alex and I are gonna search for more after Mom and Dad leave and Chad and Taylor are preoccupied with something. I heard Mom and Dad coming down the stairs and I walked into the living room where Chad and Alex were arguing over what show to watch.

I heard Mom and Dad coming down the hallway, so I sat down next to Chad. They came in arm in arm. "We're leaving," Dad said.

"You're not going to leave me along with _them_ all night are you?" I asked referring to Chad and Alex who were acting like barbarians all afternoon.

Mom shrugged. "You can watch TV in the game room if you want."

"But Mom, it's really creepy in there." I complained. "And for a house with 5 extra bedrooms one would think at least one of them has another TV."

"Maybe you can talk your brothers into scaring away the ghosts that are in the screening room." Dad said. Ok, when I was little I used to be afraid to go in the screening room just because Chad had scared me one time. After that I refused to go in there without someone.

"We've gotta go." Mom said. "Love you."

"Love you." We all replied in unison. We heard the front door open and then slam shut.

"Where's Taylor?" I asked.

"In her room, why?" Chad replied.

I exchanged looks with Alex. "We need to show you something."

When Alex went up to get Taylor we told her and Chad everything. We thought it would be best if they knew. I don't think even Mom and Dad knew of the secret passage.

We opened the secret passage from the dining room and Taylor and Chad seemed amazed. "Cool, right?" I said.

We walked further down and went into the one that led to Dad's study. We showed them every single one.

Chad was really surprised when we showed them the one that led to his room. "Do you think there's more?" He asked.

"We don't know." Alex said. "We wanted to find out tonight, if you guys are up for it."

"Uhhh, yeah!" Taylor said as if it was obvious.

"Ok, we're going in." I said. "If you see anything, a doorway, anything like that don't be afraid to go in. Chances are you'll have found something. If you need any help yell."

I was mostly talking to Chad. He thinks he can do everything by himself. We all walked into the secret passage and spread out. I shined my flashlight at every nook and cranny. I soon found a door. Not a doorway, a door. There was a button next to it, so I pushed it. The door opened and I went inside.

This place didn't look like the rest of the secret passage way. It had cobwebs and spiders no doubt. A long hallway went through it. I walked inside trying to keep my cool. I kept my focus on the hallway. It was strangely long. I came to a three way fork.

I decided to go down the middle and it took me to a dead end! What the heck!? This can't be happening! I shined my flashlight in front of me. It looked like some sort of wood. I knocked on it. It was definitely hollow. I inspected it some more.

It had a little tab. I lifted it and there were side-oval shaped holes. I looked through them. I looked upon some room I didn't recognize and it was really creeping me out. I pushed on the wood and it opened like a door. I stepped out and looked on what I had stepped out of. It was a painting of someone I didn't recognize.

It looked kinda like-. I heard a creak behind me and I spun around. There was nothing. I kept the painting open and looked around. It was a spare room. There wasn't much. All that was there were boxes. I opened one and there were a bunch of pictures. None of them were people I recognize, although I feel like I've seen one of them before.

I opened another and there was the woman from the painting. Closed the one and opened another. There were a bunch of rolls of film for a movie projector and negatives. I decided to show someone.

I went back in the secret passage and yelled for someone.

Taylor came running. "What?" She asked.

"I found something." I said. We walked into the secret room and she helped me look through the boxes. She found a film projector and we put one of the rolls of film in. It was some old movie that no one cared about.

We just stopped it and looked at the negatives. "Do you recognize any of these people?" Taylor asked.

"No," I said.

We heard another creak. "Ok, Rachel, I'm getting creeped out now." Taylor said. We heard another.

"Yeah, me too." I said quickly. We ran down the passage and ran into Chad on the way.

"Why were you running?" Chad asked.

"Because we found a secret room and we heard some creaks and stuff." Taylor said as if it was obvious.

"Guys I found something!" Alex yelled. We followed the sound of his voice and found some more passageways. It seemed to get shorter as we got in deeper, so we had to crawl. We eventually came to a dead end, which meant we were almost there.

Chad pushed on it and it opened. The passage leads to the laundry room. It was a shelf built into a door. "Must be the same design as the bookshelf." I said.

"Alex?" Chad said. Alex came out of the hallway.

"What?" He asked.

"Was this the secret passage you were talking about?" Taylor replied.

"Yep." He put extra emphasis on the p.

_Patricia_

We've only been at the gala for a couple hours and I'm getting really bored. Listening to nothing except classical music for hours does something to you. Plus I think I've been holding Eddie's arm so long I think it's gonna get stuck like that.

Right now we're talking to some producer who's told some really bad jokes. I just pretend to laugh. Everything anyone's talked about tonight has been boring and it's amazing I haven't fallen asleep yet. Sure, I've been to a bunch of these types of events, but galas are the absolute worst. Award ceremonies and shows are kinda fun to go to. You meet some interesting people.

The producer and his wife walked away and I sighed. "How many more people do we have to greet?" I asked.

"3." Eddie said. He scanned the room. He nodded his head in the direction of some people. "That's John Williams and his wife, Samantha."

"The composer?" I asked. We walked in the direction of them.

"Yeah," We approached them. "John,"

"Ah, Eddie," They shook hands. "How are you this evening?"

"Good and you?"

"Good,"

"This is my wife, Patricia." Eddie motioned toward me and I let go of his arm to shake John's hand.

"Nice to meet you." I said.

"Likewise," He paused for a moment. "And this is my wife, Samantha."

It was pretty much the same boring chatter that's been happening the whole evening. Finally we came to the last person we had to greet. After her we could leave.

"Last person is Meryl Streep and her husband, Don."

We approached her and it was the same spiel as everyone else. "I hope to see you at the Oscars next weekend." Meryl said. She walked away.

"We can go now." Eddie said. He seemed kinda irked. When we got outside our limo was there. We got inside and I stretched out.

"So what's got you all pissed?" I asked.

Eddie sighed. "You know how we sit next to Angelina and Brad most every year?"

"Yeah. Why, this year we aren't?" I asked.

"We're sitting next to Meryl."

I shrugged. "What's so bad about her? I don't think you ever told me."

"I don't wanna talk about it."

I planted a little kiss on his lips and he smirked at me. The rest of the ride we sat in a comfortable silence.


	10. Certificates Reveal Everything

_Taylor_

I woke up this morning with a really sore throat. I got out of bed and felt a sudden rush of cold air. I grabbed a blanket, but I was still shivering my butt off. I started walking down the hallway, but I felt terrible. I just decided to go back to my room.

I got back into bed and called for Rachel. My voice was next to nothing. It was pretty much gone. "Rachel," My raspy voice said again. I guess I'm going to have to check if she's in her room or not. I got out of bed and went to the door that joined our rooms together. I looked to her bed. It was empty.

I went back to bed and waited for someone to come up. They'd have to sometime. I laid down and went back to sleep.

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

I woke to Mom shaking me awake. "Wake up," She said. "It's 11:30." I didn't reply. "Are you feeling ok?"

"No," I said. "My throat really hurts and it's really cold in here."

"Say ahhhh."

"Ahhhhhh," Mom looked in my throat. "It looks like you have strep." I closed my mouth. "Let's take your temperature." Mom left the room and came back with a thermometer. She put it in my mouth and I sat there for a few minutes until it beeped. Mom looked at it. "102. Do you want some tea?"

I nodded and Mom left. After a few minutes Dad came up. "Tay, how are you feeling?"

"Bad." My voice sounded a little better than earlier this morning, but not by much.

Dad looked at my sympathetically. "And you're losing your voice too?" I nodded. "Do you need anything?"

"Mom's making me tea." My raspy voice said.

Dad left the room, probably to go downstairs and I was left by myself. Today will be a long day.

_Rachel_

While Mom and Dad are taking care of Taylor I intend to find out whose stuff is in that cabinet in Dad's study. It should be relatively easy to find out as long as I can sneak onto Dad's laptop.

I went into the secret passage from Chad's room. He'll cover for me if Mom and Dad happen to ask where I am. Plus we have walkie talkies, so I'll know. I walked down the hallways and to the one that entered the study. I got out of the closet type thing and peeked my head out. Dad wasn't there.

I walked out of the closet and over to the desk. I searched through the drawers and there wasn't anything. Where is his laptop? Having no luck finding anything I looked through his filing cabinets. There was one under lock and key. I remember I had found a key. I went back and found it.

I opened the cabinet and it was all separated into two sections. One was labeled 'Eric' and the other 'Taylor'. Why would he have Taylor labeled on a tab in here? I looked through the one that said Taylor. It wasn't my sister. I found a birth certificate.

_Name: Taylor Susan Miller_

_ Sex: Female_

_ Date of Birth: April 2, 1986_

_ Mother maiden name: Terry A. Miller_

_ Father name: Unspecified_

Terry's grandma's name. 1986? What is going on? I took the whole section out of the cabinet and locked it. There were a bunch of manila file folders. There must be _some_ pictures in at least one of them. Dad's laptop can wait. I have to look through these.

I went back in the secret passage and went back through Chad's bedroom. "What did you find?" He asked.

"I found these." I took out the birth certificate and he looked at it.

"What's so special about this?"

I pointed. "Terry's grandma's name. When I first read it I thought it was Taylor's birth certificate, but the middle name was wrong. I had to look at the whole thing to be sure." I put the birth certificate back in the folder I found it in. "You're going to help me look through these while Mom and Dad are taking care of Taylor.

We went into my room and locked both doors. I opened one of the folders and laid out its contents on my desk. There was a social security number, school information, but no pictures or anything more that would connect her to Dad.

"I found something." Chad said. I jumped.

"What?"

"I found a passport." He opened it and there was a picture of the woman I saw in the scrapbook a couple weeks ago!

_Nationality: USA_

_ Surname: Traveler_

_ Given names: Taylor_

_ Sex: F_

_ Date of Birth: 02 April 1986_

_ Place of Birth: Los Angeles, USA_

_ Issued on: 21 April 2004_

_ Expires on: 20 April 2013_

"Do you recognize her at all?" Chad asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Is it just me, or does she look a lot like Dad?"

He studied her picture. "Yeah, kind of."

I went back to looking over files. I took some out and found something that shocked me. I gasped.

"What?" Chad asked. I held up the piece of paper. A death certificate. Chad put his hand over his mouth.

I looked it over.

_Name: Taylor Susan Miller_

_ Died at: 5:15 pm_

_ On the day of: August 14_

_ Sex: Female_

_ Date of Birth: April 2 Age: 19_

_ Name of disease or cause of death: Complications during surgery_

_ Occupation: Waitress_

_ Marital status: Single_

"How did she die?" Chad asked.

I sighed. "Complications during surgery." I put the paper down. "We still need to find out what she had to do with Dad."

Eventually we had looked at the front and back of every single document in every single folder. We started pacing around the room trying to figure out what her relationship with Dad was.

"We know she was grandma's daughter, but her father's unspecified, so she's either Dad's half-sister or whole sister." Chad said.

I thought for a moment and came to a conclusion. "I think we know what we have to do." I started. "We need to steal Dad's birth certificate."

Chad smirked and I knew exactly what he was thinking. "Let's do it."


	11. Searching

_Rachel_

We're going to track down Dad's birth certificate after school today. I honestly don't know how Chad's going to distract Mom and Dad, but he is. Right now I'm in my last class and it's really boring.

All we learn about in here is, well, nothing. For an English class we hardly do any work. I kept my eyes fixed on the clock. Only one minute left. I tapped my fingers anxiously. At least I know where I learned it from. Mom always does it when she's anxious.

The bell rang and I went to my locker. I got out all my books and put them in my backpack. After I was done doing that I met Chad outside.

"So, what's the plan?" He asked.

"Ok, you distract and I'll get into Dad's study and try to find his birth certificate. I'm sure he has it somewhere."

"What if Dad needs to go into his study?" He asked.

"Keep him out of it. Do whatever you need to do."

He sighed. "Does that mean getting in trouble?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Do you wanna know who this Taylor person is or not?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Then you'll be willing to get into trouble."

"And if I absolutely cannot get Dad away from the study?"

"I'll use the secret passage back to your bedroom."

Mom pulled up in the Acura and I got in the backseat. It's Chad's week to sit shotgun. "So how was school?" Mom asked.

"Fine." I said.

"Good." Chad replied. It was the same boring chatter we went through every day until we got home. Our plan was sent into action. I got into the study through the secret passage; meanwhile Chad was keeping Mom and Dad in the kitchen.

I looked through Dad's filing cabinet again. I found a part labeled 'Resume'. I pulled out the file and Dad's headshots, resume, and other stuff was in it. I searched through the entire thing and no birth certificate. I kept searching through the drawers and there was nothing. Where could it be?

I just gave up and left the study and came out the secret passage through the dining room. I snuck back into the kitchen. Chad was actually quite good at stalling. I went in and got a snack.

Chad and I left the kitchen and went up to my room to converse. "Well, did you find anything?"

"No, we'll probably have to order it online."

Chad sighed. "Great." He slumped back in his chair.

"So, I was looking through this last night and guess what I found." I said referring to all the files about Taylor.

"What?"

"I found an autopsy report."

"What does it say?"

"She had a heart problem."

His eyebrows furrowed. "What kind of heart problem?"

I shrugged. "The autopsy doesn't say _that_ much."

"Anything else?" He asked.

"No. No pictures, no anything."

"So are you still going to steal his laptop?" Chad asked.

"If I can find it. He might have something."

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

It's 11:36 and I'm going to find Dad's laptop. It can't be _that_ hard. It's not like he hides it. I don't think it's in the study, so that leaves his and Mom's room, the living room, or kitchen.

I searched the kitchen first and there wasn't anything. Only some chargers and Mom's laptop. She surely wouldn't have anything. I went in the living room and the only electronic in there was the TV.

I sighed. Great, I'm going to have to sneak into Mom and Dad's bedroom and search for it. Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. I got in the secret passage and looked through the one way glass leading to Mom and Dad's room.

They were both fast asleep in each other's arms. As cute as I think that is and as much as I want to savor this moment, I've got work to do. I stepped out of the passage and quietly closed the mirror. I searched the darkness for the laptop.

I suddenly saw it on the coffee table they have in there. I picked it up and tip toed to the secret passage. I heard a sudden shift and looked to their bed. I sighed a sigh of relief. Mom just turned onto her side. Good.

I went back in the secret passage and sat down. I need to return it ASAP. I opened the lid and looked at Dad's emails. There wasn't anything important or intriguing. He and his agent were going back and forth. It's probably about his TV show contract or something. I clicked on the little file icon and it opened. I searched his files for 'Birth certificate', 'Taylor', and 'Mom'. There wasn't anything on any of those except for pictures of Taylor (my sister).

I went back into his email and searched 'Taylor'. There wasn't anything. I snuck back in and put it on the coffee table where I found it. Dad probably won't notice.

I heard a shift again and I looked to Mom and Dad. It was Mom again. She must've heard me. She hears everything. I held my breath. Maybe she won't notice. I looked back and forth between her and Dad. I remember when I was about 4 I went downstairs to get a glass of water, but Mom and Dad were in the kitchen.

It must've been about 2 am, now that I look back on it. They started walking in my direction so I hid and they walked past me without even noticing. To this day I don't think they know I was there. Anyway, whenever one's out of bed and awake the other somehow knows and is too.

I don't know if it's mental telepathy or if they're not quiet enough, but it's been that way ever since I can remember.

I started breathing again. She won't wake up. I left through the passage and went through Chad's room. He knows I'd go through there and he said I could use it. I tip toed across the room, trying not to wake him. Thankfully, I didn't and slipped back into my room.

We'll have to order his birth certificate online.

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

** Hey guys! I know I haven't been putting any characters other than Rachel and Chad, but the next chapter will focus on mainly Peddie. I was reading my reviews on the original and someone said if I do make a sequel I should focus on Peddie AND the kids. And I have noticed that when people do sequels it MAINLY focuses on the kids and I don't really wanna do that.**

** I kinda wanna focus on both. So yes, making a long story short, next chapter Peddie. Love you guys!**


	12. Miss You

_Eddie_

It's about 11:30 and Patricia and I are going out to lunch today. Even though she doesn't like going to lunch that often, I figured I'd treat her. I went into my study and noticed something was out of line. I couldn't put my finger on it.

I scanned my desk and everything seemed to be in order. I turned to my right and noticed one of the drawers on my filing cabinet was open. As I went to close it I remembered this was the one I kept under lock and key. How could someone get in it? Only Patricia and I know where the key is.

I was about to close it when I noticed something was missing. I opened it and only Eric's file was there. Where was Taylor's? I closed it and locked it. I also put the key in my pocket for good measure.

I left the study and Patricia was in the kitchen. "Did you open the filing cabinet lately?" I asked.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "No." She said. "Why?"

"One of the files is missing."

She raised her eyebrows. "Which one?"

"Taylor's."

"Maybe one of the kids got into it."

"How would they know where the key is?"

"Well, where did you keep it?"

"In the desk."

She scoffed. "That's why," She said. "You need a better hiding place."

"No, no." I said. "The kids wouldn't do that."

She stared at me in disbelief. "Have you met Chad? He'd have no problem with it."

"Pfft." I said. "No he wouldn't."

She shrugged. "All I'm saying is the kids are capable of more things than you think."

Ok I know I've been away a lot, but I know Chad, or any of the kids, could be capable of that. I just wish I could have more time with them. Usually, they're off doing their own thing and I don't get to see them but two minutes. Or at least, that's what it feels like.

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Patricia and I got in the bathtub after the kids went to bed tonight. We had champagne earlier and I guess it kinda got to us. She sat behind me and was pretty much washing my chest.

"I've been thinking," I started. "Maybe I should quit."

"Quit? What? Why?"

"I've missed a lot, you know?" I said. "Taylor's birthday, Valentine's Day, our anniversary."

"I told you that was ok. I know you couldn't get the time off-"

"I just don't want to miss any more of that type of stuff. My contract's up for renewal anyway."

Patricia stayed silent for a moment. "Eddie," She started. "You love acting. The stage is your home."

"I know but-" I cut myself off. "I'm just tired of you and the kids having to take a backseat because of it."

"So, we'll move."

I grew wide eyed and turned around. She was just sitting there, casually. "Yacker, no."

"Well, you don't want to give either one up."

"Yeah, but I'd be more willing to give up acting for a few years."

"Would you?" She asked.

I turned back around and sat back. Patricia continued stroking my chest. "I'm just tired of missing you."

"That makes two of us."

**Ok, so I know it wasn't very long, but I was in a bit of a rush. Anyway, now I've got a plot line I can work off of and writing will come easier.**

** So I've been lacking in updating on a regular basis and so I've come up with a new writing schedule. I'll be updating Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Hopefully, I won't procrastinate and all that sort of stuff.**

** Love you guys!**


	13. Curiosity Killed The Cat

_Rachel_

I think Dad's onto us. He knows Taylor's file is missing, so while Mom and Dad are at the Oscars tonight we'll return it. We've already looked through every single piece of paper in there as it is.

Right now Mom and Dad are getting ready. I don't know why, but I like to watch them get ready for galas and award shows. Mom's wearing an aqua blue dress. She looks really good in it. Its skirt is thin and not super poofy. Mom doesn't look good in those sorts of things.

Dad's wearing a tux again. Again, not much to tell. I left the secret passage and went through Chad's room. "Are they almost ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, they should be leaving any minute." We went downstairs and Alex and Taylor were already there. We haven't told them anything, yet. It's not something we're prepared to do.

Mom and Dad came in. "We're leaving." Mom announced.

"Ok," All of us said in unison.

"We want you in bed by 10. No excuses." Dad said.

"Ok,"

"Love you." Mom said.

"Love you," Mom and Dad exchanged looks and left.

We've got a plan to put in action

Taylor and Alex are playing some game in the game room and Chad and I are putting the plan in action. We got in the study through the secret passage and put the file back. I decided to look through some more files.

"Let's go." Chad urged.

I opened a file. It looked interesting. There were only a few papers and something caught my eye.

"What's that?" Chad asked. I read the paper. It was shocking. I couldn't talk. "Rachel?" Chad paused. "Rachel? What is it?"

"M-m-mom." I couldn't speak. It was all too horrible. I put my hand over my mouth, not wanting to believe it.

"Rachel, you're scaring me." Chad said.

I looked at Chad. "Mom had an abortion." He grew wide eyed.

"Let me see that." He took the waiver. "They make you sign waivers?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I guess."

"What's the date?"

I pointed. "June 26, 2013."

"Before you." He said under his breath. I gave him a small nod. "What do we do?"

I sighed. "We find more files." Chad and I went to Dad's filing cabinet. I took the file labeled 'Eric'. There's got to be some stuff here. Meanwhile, Chad searched through the files.

"What about this?" He asked.

"What is it?"

He held up an envelope and very carefully opened it. There were a bunch of pictures. I looked at some of them. It looked like they had been taken of the person without them knowing.

"Who do you think it is?" I asked. I looked in the pictures. She was dressed in very provocative clothing in every single one. She had brown curly hair and seemed to look very tired.

"I don't know." We looked through the envelope more. Nothing except pictures. "With nothing except pictures we can't figure out who this is."

"Past girlfriend?" Chad shot me a look. "What? Just an idea."

"Dad wouldn't hire a private investigator to take pictures of a past girlfriend."

"How do you know it's a private investigator?" I asked.

Chad showed me the envelope. "Only private investigators give people stuff in envelopes like this. Haven't you seen the movies?"

"No. But, what does this mean?"

"We need to find out. Keep the file. We'll look at it more tomorrow." Chad stood up and took the envelope. We left the study.

"Where are we gonna hide these? Mom and Dad are going to catch us eventually."

"We have to keep them on us in the one place they won't and can't search."

I smirked. "Our binders."

_Alex_

Am I the only one who's noticing Chad and Rachel have been sneaking around a lot lately? I will admit, Taylor and I get left in the dust quite often, but it's weird cause we're not exploring secret passageways anymore and Chad and Rachel haven't been fighting like they had been.

Something's definitely not right. I stood up from the couch and Taylor looked up at me.

"What?" She asked.

"Something's going on with Rachel and Chad."

"So what?"

"I'm going to find out what it is." I left the room and Taylor followed.

"What are you gonna do?" Taylor asked.

We went upstairs and into Rachel's room. My jaw dropped. She had pictures laid out all over her desk and papers scattered everywhere. Taylor and I walked in and got a closer look.

"When do you think she'll be back?" I asked.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?!" Someone yelled. Taylor and I whipped around. Rachel and Chad were standing there looking as angry as ever.

"Rachel, what is this?" I asked, calmly.

"NONE OF YOUR BUISNESS!" She walked over to her desk and started putting the pictures away.

"If it's none of my business why are you hiding it?" I asked. "And why is Chad in on it?"

"Yeah!" Taylor chimed in.

Rachel and Chad exchanged looks. They're gonna tell us. "Do you really want to know? Cause if you do Mom and Dad can't know _any_ of this is going on."

"Let's hear it." I said.

Rachel closed the door. "Dad has a late sister named Taylor."

Taylor's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean 'late'?"

Rachel paused. "Dead."

"I'M NAMED AFTER A DEAD PERSON!?" She yelled.

"SHHHHH!" We all said in unison.

"Yes." Chad completed her sentence. "And in order to find out if she's Dad's half or whole sister we need to order his birth certificate online."

"Dad was onto us, so we put Taylor's file back."

Taylor seemed to zone out. "How did she die?"

"Complications during surgery." Rachel said.

"Anyway," Chad started. "When we went to put the file back Rachel came across waivers."

"What kind of waivers?" I asked.

"Abortion waivers."

"What's an abortion?" Taylor asked.

We all sighed in unison. "You're so ignorant!" Rachel yelled. "She killed the baby!"

She put her hand over her mouth. "When? Why?"

Chad sighed. "Before Rachel."

"Did Dad know? Was it his?" I asked.

Rachel and Chad shrugged. "It doesn't say."

"Anything else?" Taylor asked.

"Not yet." Rachel said. "We hope to find out tomorrow, after school. Meet us up here after you get home tomorrow."

"No telling Mom and Dad." Chad said.

"This is going to be fun." I said.


	14. Sick

_Patricia_

I woke up and went downstairs. I started to make coffee when I looked at the time. 4:45. Really? I never ever get up this early. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock again. I really hope something's in my eyes. Nope, still 4:45. I sighed and made the coffee when someone came into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mrs. Miller." Emily said cheerfully. Jeeze, for a maid she gets up early.

"Morning," I replied.

"I have the LA Times for you if you want to read it." She held up the newspaper. I took it.

"Thanks."

She started wiping off the counter. "So why are you up so early?"

I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep." I pinched the bridge of my nose and opened the newspaper. I looked at the headlines. Some boring government shit, financial shit, someone getting murdered. The only reason I read this is for the comics and horoscopes.

I turned the pages to the life section. I started reading the comics when I heard someone come into the kitchen. I assumed it was Eddie and didn't look up. The next thing I knew arms were being wrapped around me and a trail of kisses were planted on my neck. I turned my head, although I already knew who it was.

"Morning," I said.

"Morning," Eddie replied. He blinked a few times, trying to embrace the earliness that people like to call a Friday morning. "What are you doing up so early?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."

He nodded and yawned. He put his fingers on my chin and turned my head toward him. He planted a little kiss on my lips that made a little smacking sound when we pulled away.

I started to smell the coffee and suddenly felt sick. Like, nauseous. I waited for a moment to see if it would go away, but it didn't. Eddie was saying something, but I stopped him midsentence. "I'm going to be sick."

He wiped the little smirk off his face. "It didn't sound that bad." Great, now what have I done?

"No, I'm seriously going to be sick." He saw the look on my face and didn't seem too hurt. I felt my mouth start to water and I made a mad dash into the hallway bathroom.

Patricia Miller is sick.

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Eddie drove the kids to school and I've been in one of the spare bedrooms all day. Eddie told me I could stay in our room, but I didn't want him to get sick with the stomach flu.

I was watching some movie when Eddie went to the gym. The house was so quiet for once, which was nice. Sometimes you can't sit down for 5 minutes without Alex and Chad harassing Rachel and/or Taylor. The kids are growing up so fast. It was like just yesterday we brought Rachel home from the hospital.

_We pulled into the garage and I looked back at Rachel. She was so tiny in her little baby carrier. She just hardly fit in her onesie. "We did good. Didn't we?" Eddie asked._

_ I smiled a little without taking my eyes off Rachel. "Yeah, we did."_

_ Eddie and I got out of the car and took Rachel inside. When we walked in the door all of our servants were waiting to greet us. Along with Katie, Jeff, Natasha, Aiden, and Jaiden._

_ Sophie immediately came up to us and started sniffing Rachel a little. Soon, everyone was gathered around us and holding her. Katie seemed to enjoy trying to pick out the features she had and identifying whose they were._

_ Later that night Rachel had fallen asleep and Eddie and I were preparing for bed. I stepped out of the bathroom and Eddie was looking down at Rachel. He had probably been babbling on about something to her before I came in._

_ "And she's really ticklish." He continued. "I'd tickle you right now, but you're sleeping. I guess we could find out in the morning." He smiled and bit his lip. "I love you."_

_ I smirked to myself and turned off the bathroom light. "You certainly made a fool of yourself." I joked._

_ "She's just the only person who's completely belonged to me."_

_ I smirked to myself and got into bed. Eddie followed. I laid down and faced Eddie. We stared at each other for a little while._

_ "Did you tell her you love her?" He asked._

_ I smirked and closed my eyes. "She knows."_

_ "Does she really?" He was trying to give me a guilt trip so I would say it._

_ "I carried her for 9 months. If she doesn't know she better learn."_

_ He smiled to himself. "Only you would say that." He said contently._

_ I let out a little bit of a sigh. "I love her. You know I do." I paused. "And I love you."_

_ "I love you too." We shared a quick peck and closed our eyes. With that, our first night of parenting began._

It's been a while since I've thought of stuff like that. I smiled to myself and went to my bedroom to get out a scrapbook I had made. I know it's not in my nature to make a scrapbook, but Katie helped me do one.

This one's pretty old. I made it right after Alex was born, so Taylor's not even in it.

I flipped through the pages and looked at all the baby pictures. I looked at a picture of Rachel, Alex, and Chad all around the Christmas tree. I remember when this was taken.

_It was Christmas Eve and Chad and Alex had gotten into mischief earlier that day. They had flushed one of Eddie's watches down the toilet._

_ Eddie was understandably upset when he found out, while I was trying to hold in my laughs. That could only happen to him. Eddie gave them both a "stern talking to" as he called it. What it really was, was him yelling at them. I know he would've sworn at them every other word, but they were toddlers._

_ Anyhow, when this was taken Eddie went total photographer on these kids. He kept shouting really weird things that no photographer would ever say at a photo shoot. And I know. I've been to a couple._

_ At the end of it all we ended up with pictures of the kids looking like dorks. This is the only picture I kept._

I miss stuff like that.

**I know! Another short and late chapter! I'm sorry guys! I'm a really big procrastinator! Whenever I start a new story I have so many ideas and I feel like I need to work on that story all the time! Then I procrastinate on this! Ok, so new chapter tomorrow. I'm going to stay up all night finishing it if I have to. Yes, I love you guys THAT much!**


	15. Tensions Rising

_Taylor_

Mom's seemed really sad lately. A couple days after she got the flu she just picked Alex and I up from school and boom. I'm not understanding this. The flu can't make you _that_ sad, can it?

I walked into Rachel's room to consult with her. "Have you _ever_ heard of knocking?" She asked.

"Rachel, this is important."

She sighed. "What?"

"Has Mom been acting strange to you?"

She closed the lid to her laptop and looked at me. "So I'm not the only one who's noticing."

I shrugged. "Ever since she's had the flu she's been acting weird."

"I know." She tapped her fingers.

"So, what do we do?"

Rachel thought for a moment. "We can't exactly go through the stuff in the study." She paused. "Steal her laptop?"

I shrugged. "What would we find?"

"Phone?"

"No," I thought. "Should we just stay on the down low?"

"Yeah, I guess we'll have to. If it's serious she'll tell us."

I grew a little scared. "Do you think it _is_ serious?"

She shrugged. "I don't know."

I went into my room and slumped down in my chair. "Great," I said sarcastically. For once Rachel doesn't know something.

_Patricia_

I looked in the mirror and scowled. I'm planning on going to the gym in a few minutes and my sports bra isn't fitting properly. I need a bigger size. I scrunched my eyes in frustration. Maybe no one will notice.

I grabbed my drawstring bag and went downstairs. The second I got down there I realized I needed water. I went into the kitchen and grabbed a couple bottles of water out of the fridge. I closed the fridge and put one in my bag, but the other I decided to take a sip of.

When I was about to put it in my bag I realized I wanted more. That happened a couple times even before I left the kitchen. I ended up chugging the entire bottle when Eddie came in.

He raised his eyebrows. "Don't drown."

"Ha ha ha," I said sarcastically. "Very funny." I threw the bottle in the trash. "I'm going to the gym." I walked passed him and left.

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

I got done at the gym, finally. It felt like I was there forever. I went upstairs and took a shower. Sure, it was nice, but it didn't make me feel any better. I was still upset. I got out of the shower and dried myself off and put on different clothes.

I took one look at myself in the mirror and burst into tears. I picked a section of the wall and sat against it. I pulled my knees into my face and rested my chin against them. I let tears stream down my face all while staying completely silent.

I heard the door open. "Patricia," Eddie said. "Are you in here?" He walked in and scanned the room. He saw me sitting against the wall. He walked over and sat next to me. He scooted me onto his lap. "What's wrong?" He looked at me square in the eye.

"Everything's so wrong."

His eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

I sighed. "I don't know, just everything."

He cocked his head. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

_Taylor_

"What are they saying?" I asked Rachel. She had her ear pressed against Mom and Dad's bedroom door.

"I can't tell." She said. I saw her get an idea and she sprinted down the hall without saying anything. I followed her into Chad's room. We both went in there and Chad seemed pretty upset when we didn't knock. Rachel went immediately into the secret passage and I heard Chad follow us.

I knew where she was going. As Chad was behind us, freaking out, Rachel and I were on our way to the secret passage that led to Mom and Dad's bedroom. When we got there Rachel pressed her ear against the one way glass and Chad and I did the same.

I think only Rachel was close enough to hear. I tried to make out what they were saying, but it only came as muffled voices. "What are they saying?" Chad asked, annoyed.

"Shhhhh!" Rachel said. It must've gotten cause I saw her eyes widen and tears formed in her eyes.

"Rachel, what is it?" I asked.

She didn't say anything and she sprinted down the secret passage back to Chad's room. "Rachel wait!" I yelled after her. She didn't even acknowledge Chad and I were there and just kept running.

She was too fast for me because she had slammed her door and locked it before I was halfway down the hall. I beat on her door. "RACHEL WHAT HAPPENED?!" I paused. "You're scaring me!" Some tears ran down my face. I went into my room and tried the door that joined our two rooms together. It was locked too. I blinked and more tears came down. I sat at my window seat and looked at the garden.

Someone knocked on my door, then came in. I didn't turn around. "I heard a lot of yelling and door slamming. What's going on?" Dad's voice asked me. I turned my head toward him and he saw I had been crying. He looked at me sympathetically. He walked toward me. "What's wrong?"

"Ask Rachel. She really freaked me out."

He pulled me into a hug and rubbed my back in circles. "I'll have Emily bring up some hot chocolate for you. Ok?"

I nodded my head and he left the room to go talk to Rachel. I heard Rachel tell him to go away.

I wish I knew what was going on. Soon Chad and Alex came into my room. Chad must've filled Alex in on everything that happened because he seemed up to speed.

"So do you think Rachel's going to come out of her room?" Alex asked. He was mostly talking to Chad. He and Rachel have a closer relationship with each other than the rest of us.

He shrugged. "I've never seen her like this." He replied.

"I haven't either." Alex added in. They both looked to me for my thoughts on the whole situation.

"You guys have known her for longer than I have." I said in response.

There was a knock at the door. "What do you guys want for dinner?" Dad asked. He leaned in the doorway.

"Dad, I really don't wanna talk about this now." I told him.

"Chad, Alex?"

"I'm good with whatever." Alex said.

"Same." Chad replied.

Dad left. We heard him try to reason with Rachel, but it wasn't working. She gets her dramatics from Mom, I already know that. Even though Dad _is_ an actor, he's pretty laid back.

Anyway, tomorrow already being Monday will suck as it is. But being in this family makes it ten times worse.


	16. Home Movies

_Chad_

When I went downstairs for breakfast this morning Mom wasn't down like she usually was (which didn't surprise me) and Rachel wasn't either. I had a relatively light breakfast. I wasn't really all that hungry. Dad came into the kitchen looking somewhat pissed.

"Where is your sister?"

Someone walked into the kitchen. It was Rachel. "I'll ride with Chloe until further notice." She grabbed a muffin and then left.

Dad scoffed. "Get in the car." He said. He grabbed the keys and I got in the front seat. The ride to school was silent. I was about to ask him what was going on with Mom, but the thought was silenced by a honking horn. We pulled up to school. "Have a good day." Dad said.

I got out of the car and went inside. I got my books and went to my first class. I wracked my brain, trying to think of a reason both Mom _and_ Rachel to be so upset and for Dad to be so pissed. I don't think I've ever seen any of them so upset.

I can't exactly ask Rachel about it. If I know her she won't tell me and even after 12 years I don't know how to talk to Mom about _anything_ that's bothering me or personal. And Dad…well…I can only talk to him about certain things. Nothing personal. I just wish-.

Out of nowhere a ruler slapped down on my desk and I snapped back. "Pay attention!" Ms. Peterson yelled. She walked back to the front of the class and continued with her presentation. I need to talk to someone about this.

**Line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

It's lunch and I'm going to talk to the counselor. She said come to her whenever we're having a problem, so I'm going to take her up on that. I walked in and she was with a student. She looked up and noticed me. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Is this a bad time?" I asked. The student turned around. Rachel. My eyebrows furrowed. "Rachel?"

"Chad? I thought you said you'd never come in here."

"I thought that until this morning."

"Alright, alright." The counselor said. "Calm down. I'm sensing some tension. What seems to be the problem with you two?"

Rachel and I exchanged looks. "Our parents." We said in unison.

_Alex_

Dad picked us up from school today and when we got home Rachel had locked herself in her room, no doubt, and god only knows where Chad was. I put my stuff in my room and went to get a snack. I took my snack and went into the living room to watch TV.

I flipped through the channels and saw Dad's show on. He plays some CIA agent. I've never really watched it. I just changed the channel. I didn't even know why I was watching that anyway. I eventually found something halfway decent and just kinda tuned it out.

After a while TV became boring and I just went up to my room. I didn't have any homework, so I didn't know what to do. I can't annoy anyone because if I do, they'll be peeved off and the last thing I want to do is peeve anyone off. If only I had something to do. I spun around in my desk chair and that entertained me for a while, but then it got boring again.

I sat around my room wondering. Why is everyone so upset? Why does Mom seem so distant? And why is Rachel acting like…Rachel? I feel like my life's falling apart. My family's falling apart. There was a knock at my door and I told them to come in. It was Taylor. "It's time for dinner." She told me. We went downstairs and Chad was already there.

"What are we having?" I asked.

"Pasta." Chad replied. We all sat in our usual spots and Dad came in with an angry looking Rachel trailing behind him. They both sat down and started eating.

"How was your guys' day?" Dad asked.

"Fine." Taylor, Chad, and I all replied in unison.

Dad looked to Rachel. "How about you, Rach?"

She shrugged. "It was fine." She said sternly.

I saw Taylor pushing around her food. I guess she was feeling the same way I was. "Where's Mom?" She asked.

"Upstairs." Dad replied.

Taylor did the unthinkable and stood up and walked out of the kitchen. This should be good. I want a front row seat. So, I did the same and followed her upstairs. I heard someone behind me. It must be Chad. Rachel wouldn't go up there.

Taylor made her way up to Mom and Dad's room and knocked. "Mom?" She asked. She went in and scanned the room. "Mom?" She asked again. Mom was sitting on the little sofa she and Dad have in here with a sketch pad.

She turned around. "Hi," She managed to get out a smile. It wasn't much, just a small one.

Taylor walked toward her and sat down. "What are you doin?"

"Sketching." Mom replied. "I used to be really into this."

Taylor watched her for a while, while Chad and I kept our distance. I waited for something to be said, but there wasn't anything.

We all stood in a comfortable silence. "I'm gonna go eat." Chad said. I followed him into the kitchen where we could just feel the tension between Dad and Rachel.

Chad and I sat down and continued eating. I just wish I knew what was going on.

_Taylor_

It's been this type of routine for days. Get up, go to school, embrace happiness, go home, eat, and go to bed. Note there's no talking on this list. We used to be one big happy family. What happened?

I went into Dad's study this afternoon and looked around. While I was looking I found a cardboard box and what was in it surprised me. It was a bunch of sketchbooks. I took one out and opened it.

On the first page was a sketch of a baby. I looked at the date on it. 5-3-14. It's Rachel. I looked to the bottom of the box and there were some CDs. I took them and put the box back. I left the study and went to Chad's room.

"What did you find?" He asked.

I held up the disks. "We need to play these on your laptop." He opened the disk drive and I put one in.

A toddler appeared on the screen. "Rachel," A voice said. "Rachel," I recognized it as Mom's voice, except it was softer and not as harsh as it usually was. Rachel looked like she was about 2 probably.

Mom appeared on the screen and she looked at the camera. "Eddie, turn it off."

"Patricia, I'm on camera a lot. Let's not forget that." Dad said matter of factly.

Mom groaned. "And there's Chad." Dad turned the camera on Chad sitting on a quilt. He was playing with some toys with another baby sitting next to him. "And Alex." Mom stood up and Chad and I grew wide eyed. She was pregnant. 5 or 6 months, at least. "And there's Taylor." Dad said pointing the camera at Mom's belly.

"Olivia." Mom said.

Chad's face grew disgusted. "They wanted to name you Olivia?"

"I look nothing like an Olivia."

"I know."

We turned out attention back to the screen. "Alex," We heard a voice say. It was Rachel. "Give that back!" She yelled. Even at 3 she was bossy. Alex had taken one of her plush dolls and was now sucking on its foot. "Alex!" She whined. She sighed. "Daddy!" She started. "Alex won't give Kaylee back!" She must've been referring to her doll.

"Maybe if you ask him nicely he'll give it back." Dad suggested.

She turned her attention back to Alex. "Alex may I _please_ have Kaylee back?" Alex shook his head. "Daddy!" Rachel whined again.

"Alex," Dad started. "Can Rachel have her doll back?" Alex shook his head. Chad seemed to get fed up with it, so he took the doll from Alex and gave it to Rachel.

"Here you go, Rachel." Chad said. Rachel took the doll and squeezed it tight, while Alex didn't know what to think about what just happened. Dad just kinda chuckled.

"Daddy?" Rachel asked.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Will you play dollies with me?"

I could almost see Dad's face. It was a mix of horrified and flattered. Dad turned around and put the camera on Mom. "Why don't you have Mommy do that?"

"Do what?" Mom asked.

"No, you!" Rachel said.

Dad groaned. "Yeah, sure." Dad turned the camera on himself. "Rachel, if you're older and you're watching don't you dare laugh. As for Chad, Alex, or Taylor-"

"Olivia!" Mom said.

Dad turned his attention back on the camera. "Don't ask me to play dolls with you. Ever."

Dad turned off the camera and Chad and I burst out laughing. That was probably the first happy moment in days.


	17. The Best Friend I Can't Get Rid Of

_Alex_

I'll be blunt; I hate my life right now. As of right now It's April 12th and Dad's been home for a month or so now. And this house has gone from bad to worse. Rachel's pretty much cut off all connection with us and Mom's still being her usual self. Plus, I still don't know what's going on. Still.

According to Taylor and Chad Rachel knows what's going on, but since she's refusing to talk to anyone so I don't think we're going to get anything out of her. As for Mom, well, all of us are too afraid to talk to her due to the reaction we may get if we do ask.

I would try interrogation with Rachel, but what do I ask? She's just stay silent as it is. I guess there's only one thing to do: lay low and get information.

_Chad_

Things have gotten really bad over this past week. Rachel's stopped talking to everyone and Mom's still being weird. Dad's been acting semi normal, but I've noticed he's shorter fused than he usually is. I've been talking to the counselor every day this week and she hasn't advised me to do anything.

And to be quite honest I'm a bit nervous. I feel like something bad is going to happen. I realize something bad is already happening, but I just can't shake this feeling. Am I feeling anxiety or something else?

_Rachel_

Stupid Mom, stupid Dad, stupid everything. This could _only_ happen to me. I'm so mad I don't know what to do! I just want answers! Answers would be nice! But do I get answers, no. Nope because little 'ol Rachel doesn't _deserve_ answers!

I've shut everyone out. That's the only way to get people to leave me the hell alone. The only time I'll come out of my room is school, to use the bathroom, or to eat. And even then I don't talk to anyone. Well, except school. That's the only exception.

Are answers too much to ask?

_Taylor_

I just want to cry right now. I thought we were supposed to be one big happy family, but I guess I was wrong. I thought everything was going fine, but I was wrong about that too. Everything's just wrong. This house isn't what it once was. It used to be warm and happy, but now it's cold and dark and I absolutely hate it.

Plus, nothing I say or think makes it better. Dad called us for dinner so I wiped away my tears and went downstairs. I looked around the kitchen and didn't see anyone at the table. It saddened me more. More tears fell down my face and I started sobbing.

"What's wrong?" A voice said from behind me. I turned around. It was Alex.

I sniffled and walked past him. "Tell Dad I'm not hungry." I walked upstairs and slammed my bedroom door.

I sat on my bed and pulled my knees into my face. I hugged them and my tears fell on the jeans I was wearing. I'm confused. I'm sad. I'm angry. I'm feeling all the ugly emotions. At least jealous isn't on the list.

I looked to the door that joined Rachel and my rooms together. I walked over and knocked on it. "Rachel," I started. "I need you." I didn't hear anything. No footsteps, no breathing. No anything. I started sobbing again. "Rachel! Talk to me!" I shriveled up into a ball on the floor. "I need my sister." I said.

I felt someone sit next to me, so I looked up. It was Rachel. "So, word on the street is you need me." We hugged.

"Why are you coming out of your room now?" I asked.

She paused. "Because you're the best friend I can't get rid of."

_Chad_

So I guess Taylor isn't hungry. I don't blame her. Dad, Alex, and I are just sitting in a cold lonely silence. Dad would ask an occasional question, but he'd only get one word responses. I dropped my fork on my plate and let it make a clanging sound. "What's going on with Mom?!" I asked out of frustration.

Dad seemed surprised. I don't think he expected an outburst like that. "It's your mom's business." He replied calmly.

I stood up and stomped up to my room. I'm sure I left Alex in an awkward position, but I don't care. I grumbled when I got up to my room and I laid face down on my bed. I wish things were simpler around here.

I eventually couldn't breathe right and I went over to my desk. I grabbed one of the disks Taylor had gotten the other day and put it in the disk drive. The video started.

A baby appeared on the screen and I realized it was one of those "Baby's first bath" home movies.

I didn't even want to know who it was and I shut it off. I inserted one of the other disks. It was of us playing fetch with Sophie in the backyard. It looked like only Rachel, me, and Alex again. Sophie seemed all excited to play fetch with all of us kids.

"Can I throw the pink one?" Rachel asked. Dad handed her a pink ball and she threw it as far as she could. It was only like 4 feet, but Rachel's a wimpy thrower as it is.

"You wanna throw one, Chad?" Dad asked. I nodded my head eagerly and he handed me a ball. It exceeded Rachel's throw, but only by a couple inches. It wasn't a very long or interesting home movie, so I turned it off.

I sat in my room for a little while when I sparked an idea. I smirked and opened the bookcase.

_Alex_

Chad pretty much left me and Dad in an awkward silence. It was awkward enough before he left. I wiped my mouth with my napkin. "I'm done too." I said before I walked away.

I walked up to my room and leaned against the door for a moment. I sighed when the wall opened and I saw Chad standing there. "Whoa!" I said. "How'd you do that?"

"I was waiting for you to get up here. I knew there was a passage here all along." He motioned for me to go in there with him, so I did. He closed the opening and led me down a familiar part of the passage.

"Where are we going?" I whispered.

"To spy on Mom and Dad, of course." He said as if it was obvious. We got to the one way glass and sat down. Mom was asleep and we didn't see Dad.

"Do you suppose this is sound proof?" I asked.

"No, Rachel could hear what Mom and Dad were saying a couple weeks ago." We turned out attention back to Mom when Dad walked in. He sat down in a chair and started shaking his leg. "Look," I whispered. "He only does that when he's nervous." I pointed to the leg he was shaking.

"Really?" Alex whispered. I nodded and kept watching. Mom woke up a few minutes later. She sat on the edge of the bed and stretched.

"Hey," She said to Dad. He turned around and she sat next to him.

"We need to call a family meeting." Dad said.

Mom's eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"

"We need to tell them. This house is falling apart; everyone's upset. Rachel's locking herself in her room, Taylor's losing her appetite. Chad's angry with me. Alex is the only person who's taking this relatively well." Dad rubbed the bridge of his nose and Mom put her hands on his shoulders.

"You're just stressed." Mom told him.

Dad sighed. "You're not seeing them, Patricia. It breaks my heart to see them like this."

Mom stroked the back of his neck for a moment until she spoke. "Ok, we'll call a family meeting." She started. "But we're doing it tomorrow when the kids come home from school."

He put his arm around her and she nuzzled her head into his shoulder. Alex and I took one look at each other and scowled.

"Wanna leave?" Alex asked.

"Yep." We walked down the secret passage back to his room.

Answers will finally come out.

**Alright, so cliffhanger. I find I don't do these as much as I could, but now some ending questions. What's the news? How will everyone react?**

** I don't really want to keep you guys in suspense until Friday, but I'm going to have to since I don't yet have the next chapter done. ****BUT IT WILL BE BY FRIDAY!**** So yeah, I love you guys!**


	18. Family Meeting

_Taylor_

May I be the first to say I'm not looking forward to this afternoon? It's forty five minutes until we get out of school and I'm petrified. Mrs. Hall even asked me if I needed to go to the nurse cause apparently I looked like I was gonna hurl. Although, I'm serious when I say I'm sick to my stomach.

I could barely pay attention when I was watching the science video. I probably had the biggest headache ever. I put my head on my desk trying to block out all light and sound.

Basically the last forty five minutes of class were me trying to pay attention, but it just wasn't working. Finally the bell rang and I packed up my stuff. I walked outside and met Alex.

"Are you ok?" He asked when he saw me. "You look like you're gonna puke."

I took a deep breath. "I probably am." I saw the Acura and I just wanted to get home and forget all this.

"There's Dad." Alex said. We walked toward the car and when I got in I noticed who was driving.

"Mom?" I asked.

She smiled. "Yeah, I'm picking you guys up today." She pulled out of the pick-up zone and left the school. When we approached Beverly Hills I was about to start hanging my head out the window. Thank god nothing happened. We got home and I went upstairs and put my stuff away.

"Family meeting!" Dad yelled as he walked down the hallway. "Family meeting!"

I groaned and left my room. Rachel did the same and we walked down the hallway in silence. We went into the living room where Mom and Dad were waiting. Chad and Alex were also there.

I sat down. "Let's get on with it." I told them.

"First, I want you guys to know your mom and I love you all very much." Dad started.

Oh my god they're getting a divorce. Isn't that how all of those conversations start?

"Patricia, do you want to do the honors?" Dad asked.

Mom smirked uneasily. "I'm pregnant."

My eyes widened and I immediately stood up. "WHAT?!" Chad, Alex, and I yelled in unison.

We all immediately started bombarding Mom and Dad with all these questions. Why? How? Are you joking? What's happening to this family?

"QUITET!" Dad yelled. All of us shut up. "One at a time."

"WHY!?" I yelled. That was the fundamental question everyone was asking.

"See, kids, where babies come from-" Dad started before I cut him off.

"DAD I'M NOT A DUNCE! I KNOW WHERE BABIES COME FROM! WHAT I WANT TO KNOW IS WHY!" I yelled again.

_Rachel_

I never thought I'd see Taylor be set off like that. But I still want to know why. It's the question I've been asking ever since I found out.

Mom and Dad exchanged looks. "It was an accident." Mom said.

Taylor scoffed. "Yeah right." I heard her say under her breath.

"Is this a joke?" Alex asked. "Please tell me you're joking."

"Yeah," Chad started. "Good one, Mom."

"Why would we joke about something like this?" Mom asked.

Alex and Chad realized they were dead serious. I still sat in silence. I could almost feel the anger of my siblings next to me. Or at least Chad was. I know that feeling from a mile away.

"Can we just forget this?" Taylor asked. When Mom and Dad didn't reply she left out of frustration.

I wish I had said something, but I didn't, so Chad did. "Why?" He said coldly before leaving the room.

"I'll go talk to him." Alex announced. He left the room and left me alone with Mom and Dad.

"Rach," Mom started. "What do you think?"

I looked up at her. "I've known for two weeks." That was the last thing I said before I went up to my room.

_Eddie_

I sighed. "That went well." I sat down and put my face in my hands.

"How did Rachel know?" Patricia asked. "You didn't tell them anything, did you?"

"No, did you?"

"No." She sighed.

I took a deep breath. "I'll go talk to them." I stood up and Patricia put her hands on my chest.

"If they're as hot tempered as you they'll need a chance to cool down." I hated to admit it, but she was right. We heard thunder and then another volt of lightning.

"It's like it knows." I remarked. Patricia gave me a half smile.

_Taylor_

I don't know how to feel about this. I know I should probably be excited, but I'm not. Maybe if this kid wouldn't be so much younger, then yeah, I would be excited. But considering it'll be 10 years younger I'm not excited. All babies are good for is pooping, eating, and crying.

Now that I think about it I don't want to be an older sister. I don't know how Rachel, Chad, and Alex put up with me. Younger siblings sound so annoying. Or at least that's how they make it seem.

I put my head under the covers when I heard footsteps coming down the hallway. I had no way to be sure if it was Mom, Dad, or one of our servants. I waited and I heard them go into another room. I could only assume it was Mom or Dad going to talk to one of us.

I heard a rumble of thunder from outside and it startled me. I don't like thunder storms. I've had a bad experience with them.

There was a knock at my door, but I didn't say anything. Maybe they'd just go away. I kept my head under the covers when the door opened. I heard whoever it was walk toward my bed and I felt them sit down. "Taylor," Mom started. "Having a little brother or sister isn't that bad."

"How would you know? You're a twin, remember?"

"Yes, but Piper _is _younger than me, remember?" She asked mocking the same tone I had with her.

I huffed. "Why'd you have to go and have another baby?"

I could almost see Mom's expression. She was hurt. She was frustrated. I'm sure she had already talked to Alex and/or Chad. She pulled down the blankets I had over my face. "Is that what this is about?" Mom paused. "Us not having time for you?"

I looked down. "You don't really now. You and Dad are always at award shows and galas. Why would that be any different after the baby comes?"

"Is that what you really think?"

I looked back up at her and gave her a small nod.

She chuckled a little. "Honey, I know it's going to be a lot of work, but in a few years you're not going to even want to be around your dad and me." She smirked. "Look at Rachel. How often does she hang around us?"

Now that I think about it she's out with Chloe a lot. Either that or she's hanging out in her room. Or maybe she's off doing her own thing somewhere in the house. Yeah, I guess she doesn't hang around Mom and Dad _that_ often. "Not often, I guess. But what if I have a problem? You and Dad will probably be too busy."

"Your dad and I could never be too busy for you. If you feel like you're not getting enough attention just come and talk to us."

"Ok," I replied softly.

"But really, what do you think of this whole ordeal?"

I shrugged. "It sounds scary."

Mom laughed a little and we shared in a hug.

**Alright so you guys FINALLY found out what's going on! So a few announcements, I won't be posting all next week because I'm going to be on vacation and I'm going to be busy doing that. Plus the weekend after that I'll be at a birthday sleepover and may not have time to write so expect a chapter either Monday the 29****th**** or Tuesday the 30****th****.**

** Bye guys!**


	19. Headshots

_Alex_

I'll be honest, I'm pretty shocked. Mom's pregnant and she's 40 almost 41. It's a little scary too. And to be quite honest I'm not looking forward to seeing Mom and Dad parenting a newborn. They haven't done that since Taylor and I think it'll be weird to see Dad talk in a baby voice.

The only time I can remember him doing that was when I was about 3 and Taylor was 2. He still treated her like a baby so he would blow on her stomach and make her giggle and all the stuff. Looking back on it, it was weird and I'm not looking forward to seeing it again.

I think I'm taking this better than everyone else, though. Taylor seemed pretty upset and Chad was pretty angry. I'm not sure why, honestly. Maybe he just doesn't want another younger sibling, but I could be wrong. And Rachel…well…Rachel's known for weeks now and we all know how _that_ turned out.

I heard a soft knock on my door and I didn't say anything. I knew exactly who it was. I placed by chin on my knee and waited for whoever it was to enter my room. The doorknob started turning and Mom came in.

"Alex," She started. "Are you ok?" She walked toward me when I didn't reply. She looked in my eyes.

I sighed. "Just scared I guess."

She gave me a half smile. "I'm scared too."

"Why?" That was the first question that came to my mind, so I figured ask it.

She shrugged. "I haven't handled a newborn in a while and there's you guys to take care of."

"Oh," I said softly. I guess I never thought of that.

"It'll be ok." She reassured me.

Mom left the room and I was left with my thoughts. I don't know, I guess I _could_ be optimistic about this. I pressed my ear to the wall to see if anyone was in Chad's room. I didn't hear any voices, so I knocked on his door. I didn't hear anything and opened the door. Chad was there sitting at his desk.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"No," He said coldly. He sighed. "You?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

Chad slumped back in his chair and opened the secret passage in the bookcase.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Snooping," He replied. "You wanna come?"

"Sure," I replied. I got inside the bookcase and followed Chad down the secret passage.

_Eddie_

I walked into the study and searched through my filing cabinets. I need new headshots done and that means looking through my old ones. I pulled out my résumé and started looking through it.

I put my headshots back in the folder and was about to leave when I heard something from the corner of the room. I just ignored it and walked into the kitchen where Patricia was pigging out on ice cream. I set the folder on the counter and started comparing my headshots.

"What are you doing?" Patricia asked. I looked up and saw she was standing right over me.

"I need a new headshot done, so I'm comparing my old ones." She sat down next to me and started looking through some.

"What about this one?" She asked. I looked at it and chuckled.

"I'm 21 in this!" I remember this. It was like my first headshot.

Her eyes widened. "Then why do you still have it?"

I shrugged. Why do I still have this? "I just want something intense. None of my headshots have really been like that."

"Intense headshots, like black and white with a frown?"

"Pretty much," I replied.

She rolled her eyes. "Actors." And with that we continued looking at headshots.

**Yeah, I know it's short, but I was in a rush. So yeah, chapter tomorrow? Bye guys!**


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